Mitchell Gibbons (22) splits the Crusader defense. (Photo/Martha Ladd)
WINNSBORO (Dec. 21, 2016) – The Richard Winn guys pummeled South Aiken Baptist 66-23 Tuesday to cap-off a very good two-day Holiday Hoops tournament run. This was also the second time this season that the Eagles have delivered such a beating to the Crusaders.
Richard Winn’s Holiday Hoops tournament, sponsored by the RWA Booster Club, was very kind to the Eagles. They notched an almost equally dominant 68-44 win against Calhoun on day one of the tournament.
“It just shows we’ve got four good seniors and we’ve got some senior leadership,” RWA head coach Joe Pitt said. “With Mitchell (Gibbons) and Bryant (Carvalho), Christian (Christianson) and Todd Johnson, they sort of get the young kids going, and it really makes it easy with those four.”
Although the Eagles may have finished with a high-point total, both teams struggled to find their offensive footing early in the game. There were a total of only seven points scored in the first quarter, five of which belonged to Richard Winn.
“It’s kind of hard to play a game like this,” Pitt said. “We just played this team about 10 days ago, and beat them by about 30. I think that’s why we came out flat at the beginning. I didn’t think we were going to score for a while.”
South Aiken Baptist scored their first basket nearly four minutes into the first quarter, and did not score another point until the five-minute mark of the second quarter, while the Eagles put up 32. The Crusaders had only five points of offense in the first half, and Mark David Pitts scored every point.
The pummeling continued into the third and fourth quarters, and Richard Winn outscored South Aiken Baptist 29-18 in the second half. A whopping 11 different players scored for the Eagles, and Gibbons led all scorers with 17, while Carvalho followed closely behind with 15.
According to coach Pitt, who also doubles as the school’s athletic director, the tournament was about more than just final scores.
“I think it means a lot,” Pitt said. “It brings us all together here at Christmas, it’s a good fundraiser for the booster club and it’s just a good way to get out when school’s not going on.”
Richard Winn 66, South Aiken Baptist 23
RWA: 5-32-18-11 – 66
SAB: 2-3-11-7 – 23
Richard Winn
Mitchell Gibbons-17, Bryant Carvalho-15, Noah Edwards-7, Hudson Wade-6, Ethan McManus-5, Todd Johnson-4, Zack Taylor-4, Chris Christianson-4, Will Carvalho-2, Darius Boyd-2.
South Aiken
Mark David Pitts-8, Collin Winkler-4, Richard Minichan-4, Reagan Obson-2, Hunter Jordan-2, Patrick Lown-2, Jacob Stewart-1.
