The Hargrave Tigers increased their winning streak to six games over the weekend as they picked up a pair of wins, moving their overall record to 16-4 on the season.
Friday January 31st
#7 Hargrave 84
#11 Atlantic Shores 70
Hargrave hit the road to compete in the Robert Thomas Invitational at Virginia Episcopal School in Lynchburg, Virginia against Atlantic Shores (Chesapeake, Virginia) in a matchup between two teams ranked in the VISAA Division 2 State Basketball Poll. After a slow start, the Tigers held a 21-14 lead after the first quarter. Unfortunately, early foul trouble hampered Hargrave in the second quarter as they fell behind 44-36 at halftime. “We struggled to get stops,” said Head Coach, Ben Veshi. “The emphasis at halftime was solely focused on sitting down and defending one on one.”
The Tigers showed much improvement on the defensive end of the floor in the second half, holding Atlantic Shores to 26 points. Hargrave themselves erupted for 48 second half points behind stellar play from Reggie Walton ’20, Nathan Kania ’20, and Zion Russell ’21 as the Tigers pushed ahead for the 84-70 victory.
Notable Performances Included:
Zion Russell ’21–29 points, 9 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals
Nathan Kania ’20–19 points, 5 rebounds, 3 steals
Reggie Walton ’20–10 points, 6 assists, 4 rebounds
Mazae Blake’20–10 points, 5 assists, 3 steals
Ethan Gadson ’20–5 points, 9 rebounds
Saturday February 1st
#7 Hargrave 71
Aspire Academy 62
After Friday’s impressive neutral court win, the Tigers faced another tough test against Aspire Academy from Louisville, Kentucky on Saturday in the Hargrave Military Circuit. Aspire Academy has great size, including a Kansas University committed player, but Hargrave didn’t back down from the challenge. Falling down 7-0 initially, Brehon Lambert ’20 pulled down an impressive offensive rebound and finished the put back to get the Tigers on the board. A late first quarter surge, with some hot shooting from Mazae Blake ’20, gave the Tigers a 17-15 advantage after the first quarter, a lead they held from the remainder of the game.
Leading by 10 at halftime, Hargrave came out on fire from distance, with a three point barrage in the second half from Nathan Kania ’20, Mazae Blake ’20, and Zion Russell ’21 as they held off any chance of an Aspire run. IJ Ezuma ’21 also played extremely well on both ends of the floor, despite being out-sized. The Tigers held on for the 71-62 victory, pushing their winning streak to six games. “I’m proud of our effort tonight,” remarked Veshi. “We were incredibly outsized but our guys didn’t back down from the challenge at all. It felt great to make a statement against a nationally recognized opponent like that.”
Notable Performances Included:
Mazae Blake ’20–21 points, 6 steals, 5 rebounds
Zion Russell ’21–14 points, 3 assists, 3 rebounds
IJ Ezuma ’21–11 points, 7 rebounds, 5 steals, 3 blocks
Nathan Kania ’20–9 points, 1 steal
Ethan Gadson ’20–7 points, 4 rebounds
In the latest VISAA Division 2 State Basketball Polls, the Tigers also moved up to the #6 ranking as things transition into the final month of the season.
#1–Blue Ridge School (108)
#2–Norfolk Collegiate School (97)
#3–Middleburg Academy (86)
#4–Highland School (82)
#5–Steward School (65)
#6–Hargrave Military Academy (62)
#7–Nansemond-Suffolk Academy (56)
#8–Miller School (47)
#9–Norfolk Christian School (30)
#10–Virginia Episcopal School (29)
#11–North Cross School (16)
#12–Atlantic Shores Christian School (12)
RV–Peninsula Catholic High School
RV–Seton School
The Tigers are back in action on Tuesday afternoon against #11 North Cross. Tip-off is scheduled for 5:30 PM from Walter Davis Gymnasium.
