Tigers Preparing for Grueling Second Half Stretch

Benjamin Veshi

After a successful month of December, which saw the Hargrave Military Academy Varsity Basketball team head into the winter break with an unblemished 4-0 record, the Tigers are back and ready to return to the court. Hargrave will head to Lynchburg on Monday, January 8th for a 7:00 PM tip-off against VIC opponent, Virginia Episcopal School. Although the Tigers do not have many returning members from their 2016-2017 squad that set a school record for wins, going 26-4, the few returners remember the bitter sting they felt last March as they fell at Virginia Episcopal in the VISAA Division 2 State Tournament Elite Eight by a narrow margin. Regardless, the Tigers are excited to begin conference play in one of the toughest conferences in the region. 

Starting with the game at Virginia Episcopal School, Hargrave begins an incredible stretch of games, playing 12 games over a span of 21 days, including 10 games on the road. Even with the tough January schedule, Tigers head coach, Benjamin Veshi, feels confident that this will prepare his team for a late season run. Veshi says, “Our guys practice hard every day, compete with each other but they truly enjoy the opportunity to compete against some of the best competition in the state. Having our schedule this packed in January will help prepare us for the challenges we’ll face later in the season, especially given the amount of road games we’ll play during this run. We’ve got a great group of guys that have bought into the process of daily improvement and I’m really looking forward to seeing how we perform over these next few weeks.”

During this stretch, Hargrave will play three VIC games, two of which will be on the road. They will also have the opportunity to play some talented teams out in Virginia Beach including defending VISAA Division 3 State Champion, Williamsburg Christian Academy, on a neutral court. The Tigers will also play a couple of rivalry games when Fishburne Military School comes to Chatham on January 16th and Hargrave travels to Roanoke to face off with North Cross in their only meeting this season on January 23rd.

Notable performers during the first month of the season include:

Benson Lin ’18–16.8 PPG, 7.3 RPG, 3.0 APG, 3.8 SPG
Chance Keyes ’19–11.3 PPG, 1.8 RPG, 1.5 APG, 1.3 SPG
Seneca Louis ’18–10.0 PPG, 4.8 RPG, 3.0 APG, 1.0 SPG
Cam McNeil ’18–7.8 PPG, 5.5 RPG, 2.0 APG, 1.8 SPG
Korbin Spencer ’18–6.8 PPG, 3.5 RPG, 1.8 APG, 1.3 SPG

The Tigers are excited to compete and look forward to hitting the court on Monday night, January 8th at Virginia Episcopal School. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:00 PM.

Seneca Louis-Woodberry Forest