Rams too much for Chatham in Shootout opener

By: By STEVE CANNULI Staff Writer | GoDanRiver.com
Published: December 27, 2009

DANVILLE, Va. – The Reidsville Rams raced out to a 33-16 halftime lead over the Chatham Cavaliers and never looked back as they took the opening game of the 2009 Register Bee Holiday Shootout, 71-42 Saturday afternoon at Averett University’s Grant Center.
Reidsville (6-2), which got scoring from 10 of its players, increased its halftime lead with a strong third quarter in which the Rams outscored Chatham 21-9.
“With the football kids getting acclimated and getting more and more depth, we got off to a slow start but eventually we were able to get the tempo to where we wanted it,” said Reidsville head coach Bill Walton.
The Rams are 2-1 since displaying their full roster complete with the football players who were unavailable until after Dec. 12.
For Chatham head coach Barry Mayo, the difference was simple.
“Turnovers and intensity,” he said. “You can’t beat anybody when you have 33 turnovers. Reidsville was a step ahead of us all night.”
Chatham actually finished the game with 28 turnovers, but that along with allowing Reidsville second and sometimes third-chance efforts at the basket was the story of the game.
Rebounds played a big factor in the game, especially in the first half. While each team had 10 turnovers through the first two periods, Reidsville out rebounded the Cavaliers, 18-10 – led by Darence Jumper’s nine. Jumper, who finished the game with seven blocks, pulled down 12 rebounds and scored nine points.
The Rams went on to out rebounded Chatham, 34-25.
Despite 19 points from Patrick Murphy, Chatham (3-4) dropped its fourth straight game of the season after starting 3-0. Murphy came in averaging nearly 30 points per game.
Only two of the Rams – Kenzel Doe and Dionte Price – finished in double figures. Doe led the Rams with 12 points and Price added 10. All of Price’s points came in the first half, including 3 of 6 shooting from three-point range.
The Rams connected on eight long-range efforts. Doe and Daniel Leake each added two 3s.
However with the game tipping off at 2 p.m., both teams looked as though they were not ready for action. Reidsville got better as the first half wore on, but still shot 39 percent from the field (13 of 33). Chatham shot 26 percent, hitting on just 6 of 23 shots.
In the loss, the Cavaliers got six rebounds and four points from Aaron Rogers and Murphy, who led all scorers with 19, had five rebounds and four steals.
Reidsville also got six points each from Dominique Shoffner, Leake and Carl Holder, who also chipped in with five rebounds.
Reidsville now awaits the winner of Liberty Christian and Tunstall, which tipped off at 1:45 p.m. Saturday. The Rams’ semifinal game will begin at 6 p.m. Monday at Averett.
The tournament concludes on Tuesday night.