By ANTHONY STEVENS
for the Daily Telegraph
LEBANON, Va. — A quick start by the Pioneers made it a tough night for Richlands.
Lebanon raced out to a 10-2 lead and were never tied and never trailed as they routed the Blue Tornado 74-31 at Charles C. Long Gymnasium on Saturday.
“We just did not compete,” remarked Richlands coach Jody Fuller. “We didn’t handle the pressure, it was bad. I really don’t have an explanation, I’m at a loss for words.”
Lebanon was all over the floor with a pesky man defense until late in the game. The Blues only made 12-of-41 attempts from the floor, shooting less than 30 percent. Half of their shots were made by Ben Brown who finished with a team-high 15 points.
“The start of our season was really rough,” explained Fuller. “I felt like we had made some progress until tonight. We looked like we did three weeks ago.”
Richlands (2-9, 0-3) never appeared comfortable against the Pioneers. They were playing without leading scorer Devon Johnson who was on a football recruiting visit, but still could have had a much stronger showing. Lebanon (7-6) led 30-11 at halftime and never looked back as the rolled in the second half.
“We played really good from the beginning,” said Lebanon coach Thad Lambert whose club had lost three straight games. “We needed something good to happen for us. We played a solid game from start to finish, so I was really happy with my guys.”
Justin Brown was a thorn in the side of the Blues the entire game. Brown posted a double-double. He was 7-of-14 from the floor, scoring 22 points and also hauled down 10 rebounds.
Thomas Young also came off the bench to have a big night for the Pioneers. Young scored 11 points and was 3-of-4 from beyond the arc. Lebanon made nine treys in the contest. All nine players on the Lebanon roster scored.
“It was a good win,” Lambert said. “We needed this with two important district games next week. I’m feeling pretty good about the way we played.”
Richlands will host Twin Valley in another non-district contest on Tuesday. Lebanon will entertain Lee High in a Clinch Mountain District encounter on Tuesday.

RICHLANDS (31)
A.J. Johnson 2 0-0 4, Harris 1 0-0 3, Barnette 0 0-0 0, Brown 6 0-0 15, Z. Johnson 0 0-2 0, Hunsaker 1 0-0 3, Deel 1 1-2 3, Flack 1 0-0 3. Totals 12 1-4 31.
LEBANON (74)
Brown 7 5-6 22, Smith 3 3-4 9, Carter 2 0-0 5, Sexton 2 0-0 4, Bollinger 1 2-2 5, Young 4 0-0 11, Slate 1 0-0 2, Chafin 4 0-1 8, Cobb 3 1-1 8. Totals 27 11-14 74.
Richlands................5 6 8 12 — 31
Lebanon................12 18 23 21 — 74
3-point goals – Richlands 6 (Harris 1, Brown 3, Hunsaker 1, Flack 1), Lebanon 9 (Brown 3, Carter 1, Bollinger 1, Young 3, Cobb 1). Total fouls – Richlands 12, Lebanon 9. Fouled out - none. Technicals – A.J. Johnson. JV game – Lebanon 40-35.