The 2021-22 Hargrave Tigers opened their season this past weekend in historic Walter Davis Gymnasium by earning a pair of victories in the Hargrave Tip-Off Showcase!
Fresh off a year with limited fans and seemingly empty gyms, the energy inside Walter Davis Gymnasium on Friday and Saturday for the Hargrave Tip-Off Showcase was electric as each day featured two games and an overall exciting weekend of hoops in Chatham. In addition to the Tigers, participating teams included Virginia Episcopal School (Lynchburg, VA), Timberlake Christian School (Lynchburg, VA), and Franklin Prep Academy (Charlotte, NC).
The action on Friday kicked off in outstanding fashion as Hargrave opened the season with a bang under second year head coach, Alan Petty. Squaring up with Timberlake Christian School, the Tigers wasted no time in establishing dominance as a Kameron Roberts ’23 (South Boston, VA) three-pointer less than twenty seconds into the game gave Hargrave a 3-0 lead that they would never reliquish for the entirety of the contest en route to a 91-29 season opening victory.
Notable Performances vs Timberlake Christian School included:
Kameron Roberts ’23 — 21 points, 3 rebounds, 3 steals
Timayahs Bracey ’23 — 13 points, 2 steals, 2 deflections
Peja Boyd ’22 — 13 points, 4 rebounds, 5 deflections
If folks thought the atmosphere in Walter Davis Gymnasium was electric on Friday, the voltage was turned up to full capacity for Saturday afternoon’s Tip-Off Showcase finale between Hargrave and a hungry Franklin Prep Academy squad. After falling narrowly to Virginia Episcopal in Friday’s nightcap (55-53), Franklin Prep came out on fire, jumping out to an early lead against the foul-plagued Tigers. Despite a slow start, the Tiger faithful in the stands willed Hargrave to a small deficit heading into the locker room at halftime.
The second half seemed to be owned by Franklin Prep early, as the visitors amassed a double digit lead and were seemingly running away with the game until late in the third quarter when junior, Isaiah Luckie (Roanoke, VA) stepped in a took a massive charge, shifting momentum back to the Tigers who entered the fourth quarter trailing by 7, 57-50. If the first three quarters belonged to Franklin Prep, the fourth quarter of Saturday’s matinee belonged to Richmond, Virginia native Maleek Richardson ’22 as he poured in 12 of the Tigers’ final 16 points en route to his team high 17 points. The final two were the most crucial as Richardson tapped in his own miss in the waning seconds of action to give the Tigers the 70-69 win as they moved to 2-0 on the season.
Notable Performances vs Franklin Prep Academy included:
Maleek Richardson ’22 — 17 points, 4 rebounds
Terrell Fitzgerald ’23 — 14 points, 5 rebounds
Dominic Shoemaker ’22 — 14 points, 3 rebounds, 7 steals
Isaiah Luckie ’23 — 3 points, 6 rebounds, 1 momentum-swinging charge taken
On his team’s performance this weekend, Coach Petty noted, “It was incredible to have fans back in the stands this weekend! Our guys have been working hard so far this season and it was great to have them enjoy a pair of victories. I need to give a big shout out to the 6th Man, the Hargrave Corps of Cadets, for their energy on Saturday afternoon. When (Isaiah) Luckie took that charge I thought the roof was going to blow off the gym! We need that loud support inside Walter Davis Gymnasium all winter!”
The Tigers are back in action on December 2nd as they face off against Tunstall High School on the road. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:30 PM.
