By LARRY HYPES
Bluefield Daily Telegraph
RICHLANDS, Va. — Richlands got plenty of insurance by bringing the good hands team to bear against Tazewell Tuesday.
With five starters in double figures, the Blues broke open a tight game with a 25-point burst in the third quarter and pulled away for a 75-59 win over the Bulldogs. Richlands (6-5) got five three-pointers from Ethan Ratliff, who had 17 points to tie teammate Scottie Ball.
Juwan Jordan paced Tazewell (6-6) with 21 points. The Bulldogs stayed close through the first two quarters, trailing just 33-30 at the break.
Richlands began to pull away early in the third quarter and decisive 7-0 run in exactly 60 seconds — from 5:06 to 4:06 on the clock — put the Dogs down by 10, at 49-39. Tazewell never got closer than eight the rest of the way.
Using crisp passing lanes, not often putting the ball on the offensive floor, RHS played efficiently all through the second half to keep the Bulldogs at bay.
“This was a big game for us,” said Ratliff. “Even though we are a young team, we rose to the challenge. I thought everybody contributed — that was a big part of the victory. I enjoyed this one, my shooting touch felt good, and my teammates were doing the job all game long, too.”
Luke Phillips popped in 13 points with a trio of three-pointers and also sparkled on the boards and was a solid defender.
“Luke can play positions 1-5,” grinned Richlands coach Jody Fuller. “I can put him at shooting guard, he can play power forward and crash the boards or he score inside. He does whatever is asked of him.”
Jordan was consistent on offense for the Bulldogs and got good second half help from Jesse Mountain, who added 15 points. Isayah Hagy was next in line with seven points but Tazewell shot less than 35 percent from the floor in a difficult outing.
“Was it (game) tough? I guess you could put it like that,” said THS coach William Lester. “We didn’t execute our offense well and didn’t finish plays. Richlands took the momentum after halftime and our shots weren’t falling. We have to bounce back from this.”
Fourth quarter highlights included a long trey by Tazewell’s Gee Tucker and a strong inside bucket by Anthony Austin for Richlands.
Ben Brown (12) and Zachary Johnson (10) were also instrumental in the victory for the hard-working Blues.
Richlands had eight three-pointers and Tazewell dropped in six treys.
The Blue Tornado travels to Martinsville, Saturday while the Bulldogs will host Abingdon, Thursday.

At Richlands Middle School
TAZEWELL (6-6)
Nick Elkins 2, Malik Davis 4, Tanner Catron 2, Gee Tucker 3, Colin Hancock 5, Juwan Jordan 21, Jesse Mountain 15, Isayah Hagy 7.
RICHLANDS (6-5)
Luke Phillips 13, Grant Herndon 2, Cody Fuller 2, Ethan Ratliff 17, Scottie Ball 17, Ben Brown 12, Zachary Johnson 10, Anthony Austin 2.
Tazewell...................14 16 14 15 — 59
Richlands.................15 18 25 17 — 75
3-point goals: R 8 (Ratliff 5, Phillips 3); T 5 (Mountain 3, Hancock 2).
Fouled out – T, Davis.