#17 Bobcats defend home court against rival Richard Bland
Riding a two-game win-streak in new year, the #17 ranked Bobcats were back in action Wednesday night looking to protect home court against their longtime rival from Petersburg, the Richard Bland Statesmen. In their previous matchup the Bobcats defeated the Statesmen on the road 79-57. Out of the gate you could see the intensity from both teams starting out as they were exchanging buckets back and fourth with neither team able to gain a significant advantage. The Bobcats began to pull away towards the middle of the first half as they took a five point lead and attempted shut the door on the game. Basketball is a game of runs and the Statesmen made one of their own and the remainder of the first half saw several ties and lead changes. Going into halftime the score was tied at 33.
The first five minutes of the second half were controlled by the Statesmen who took the lead 43-48. The Bobcats stayed patient and withstood the storm in front of them and they finally found an opening to attack with six and half minutes left in the game and they took a two point lead after an and-1 dunk by Zaire Rogers. Coach Coleman calls plays like that, "Wow Plays" and it ignited the Bobcats who locked in defensively the remainder of the game and slowly built up a double-digit lead over the last few minutes of the game. The crowd and atmosphere was the best it's been all season and the Bobcats took home the victory 75-61.
#1 Jefferson Youngblood led the way for the Bobcats with 17 points and 9 rebounds. #11 Kendall Bynum had 13 points and a game high 9 assists, Zaire Rogers also had 13 points, #2 Caleb Walker added in 10 for the Bobcats, and #35 Josiah Dow had 9 rebounds and a game high 5 blocks. Up next the Bobcats (14-2) travel to Cedar Bluff, VA, Saturday to take on Southwest VA CC (8-4) and then to Jamestown, NC on Monday to take on Guilford Tech (5-7).
