Block · one region of the page, as the scanner read it. It may hold a whole story, part of one, several, or an advertisement; stitching blocks into articles is the next step. Text is supplied OCR.
Page 12 · column 1 of 7 · from the scan, no model involved
By joe McCullough j
Rappahannock News Special Writer The Rappahannock Panthers i squandered a 15-point lead Tuesday j night at home and lost their third straight game, this one to the George Mason Mustangs, 70-56. The loss dropped their record to &5 in the District and 12-5 overall. The Panthers are now in fourth place in the Bull Run and are likely tt> meet the Brentsville Cougars in the first round of the upcoming district tournament. Against George Mason, the Panthers were slow out of the gate, turning the ball over four times in the first three minutes to fall behind 7-2, but senior Eric Dunn calmed his team down and with a smooth threepointer put Rappahannock on top, 97.
• Doug Smith added a tip-in for a 12-9 lead and RCHS had their fast break offense in gear, but on defense the Panthers were allowing George Mason plenty of penetration before they applied any pressure. Trailing 16-14 at the end of the first quarter, Rappahannock’s boys played a little volleyball under their basket and let time run out before they could score.
In the second period the Panthers delighted the home crowd with their special brand of up-tempo play. Following a turnover, Danny Ellis glided through the lane for the tying bucket at 16. Julian Groves layed in an offensive rebound to put it at 1816, then Ellis repeated his Barishnikov imitation two more times for a 24-17 advantage.
The Panthers went until the final minute of the second period before turning the ball over, and took a 3625 edge into the locker room. They outgunned the Mustangs 22-9 in the second quarter. But the most surprising statistic was team fouls: only five for the first time in several weeks with no one in foul trouble.
George Mason started the second half with four points from long range, extending Rappahannock’s zone. With less pressure under the basket, the Mustangs fed the ball to their 6-foot-4 center Matt Miller, who played his finest game of the season, totaling 24 points.
The well-coached Mustangs were consistent in every facet of play, es
88.7%