The Hargrave Military Academy Varsity Basketball team tackled a behemoth of a schedule to start 2018, playing five games in seven days-four of which were on the road. The Tigers came out with a 3-2 record, bringing their overall season record to 7-2 through 9 games.
This journey started at Virginia Episcopal School on January 10th, where the Tigers dropped a tough conference contest on the road, 69-65, in a well-played game by both teams. The Tigers then hit the road and made their way out East to play a pair of games in Virginia Beach, which saw the Tigers claim a 67-42 victory over Atlantic Shores on Friday night, and perhaps their most thrilling victory of the season, 93-87 over defending VISAA Division 3 State Champion, Williamsburg Christian Academy in overtime.
The game against Williamsburg Christian Academy was a high-paced, back and forth, high-level game between two outstandingly talented teams. Hargrave found themselves trailing 80-78 with 5.8 seconds left in regulation when Seneca Louis went to the line. Louis missed both free throws but Maurice Wilcox kept the play alive by grabbing an offensive rebound, which was followed by a pair of offensive rebounds by Louis before eventually sinking the game tying bucket. A Benson Lin corner three pointer opened the scoring in the overtime period and the Tigers never looked back.
On Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, Hargrave made their way down to Matthews, North Carolina to participate in the Carmel Christian MLK Showcase sponsored by Phenom Hoop Report. In a “knock ’em down, drag ’em out” type of game, the Tigers just didn’t have enough in the tank as they fell to Rabun Gap, a well-coached team out of Georgia, despite getting incredible performances from Korbin Spencer and Chance Keyes all afternoon.
On Tuesday, January 16th, Hargrave hosted Fishburne Military School in their second home game this season. Walter Davis Gymnasium was buzzing with excitement for the Tigers to play at home again, and the team didn’t disappointed as they began the game on an 18-0 run and never looked back en route to a 103-18 victory, which saw everyone on the roster contribute to the win.
Notable Performances over the weekend include:
Saturday 1/13 vs Williamsburg Christian Academy
Seneca Louis ’18–24 points, 16 rebounds, 8 deflections, 5 assists
Benson Lin ’18–24 points, 9 deflections, 7 assists, 5 rebounds
Korbin Spencer ’19–18 points, 10 rebounds, 4 deflections, 4 steals, 3 assists
Monday 1/15 vs Rabun Gap
Korbin Spencer ’19–14 points, 6 rebounds
Chance Keyes ’19–14 points, 4 steals
Seneca Louis ’18–9 points, 8 rebounds
The Tigers take the court again on Friday, January 19th as they will head to St. George, Virginia to face off with VIC conference foe and defending VISAA Division 2 State Champion, Blue Ridge. Tip-off is scheduled for 6:30 PM.
On Saturday, January 20th, Hargrave heads to Roanoke College for an opportunity to compete in the Roy Stanley Memorial Shootout against a talented Olympic High School team out of Charlotte, North Carolina. Tip-off is scheduled for 4:00 PM.
