By ANTHONY STEVENS
for the Daily Telegraph
LEBANON, Va. — The Lebanon Pioneers got bombarded with 3-pointers from the outset and that was quickly the game on Monday. Richlands put on an impressive display in a 72-45 rout of Lebanon at Charles C. Long Gymna-sium.
Cody Fuller nailed a trey from the right corner the Blue Tornado’s opening possession to get things started. Scottie Ball, Ben Thompson, McKenzie Smith, and Ethan Ratliff all followed with 3s.
Fuller then closed the run with another trifecta as the Blues first six baskets were beyond the arc, as they rapidly bolted to an 18-8 advantage.
“We jumped on them,” said Richlands coach Fred Phillips. “We hadn’t had a good start all year, but we started fast tonight, and we had balanced scoring.
“Our intensity was at a high level and that’s the way I like it. We got to play a lot of people, we used two units to try to wear Lebanon down and had some success doing it.”
Nick Helton and Will Stamper hit 3s for the Pioneers as they cut the margin to eight late in the first quarter. But Ball scored in the paint with 25 seconds to play in the first to begin an 18-0 run that went deep into the second period.
The Pioneers’ first field goal came on a driving layup by Garrett McGaffee with only 3:35 to play in the first half. The Blues held an insurmountable 47-22 advantage at halftime.
“Their first 18 points were 3-pointers,” Lebanon coach Thad Lambert said. “I thought we did a decent job of getting out and getting a hand up.
“Richlands just has a real good team. We knew coming in they shoot a lot of 3s. Tonight they were just hot, my hats off to them.”
The Blues finished with 10 treys in the game. As polished as their offense was, the defense looked even better. Lebanon finished with 14 turnovers in the first half and 23 miscues in the game.
“We try to create turnovers and play an up-tempo game,” Phillips said. “We like to get on some positive runs. We have a lot of players that can score. That’s our strength, our depth. We’re going to need it as we play nine games in 10 days.”
Each time the Pioneers tried to establish some momentum, they would have two or three turnovers and miss four or five shots in a row. Lebanon could not find any consistency in their offense.
“We haven’t shot the ball very well the last two weeks,” stated Lambert. “We’re just waiting for that night when we bust out of our slump.
“As bad as this looks we only have one loss in our conference (Clinch Mountain). We have lot of conference games left, it’s a matter of regrouping, shaking the rust off, coming out and having some big games.”
Luke Phillips (15 points), Ball (13 points) and Fuller (12 points) were the leaders for Richlands. Eleven different players scored for the Blues.
“We’re off to a good start,” Coach Phillips said. “But we need to stay healthy and finish strong. We want to stay positive and keep on doing the right things.”
Helton led the Pioneers posting a double-double with 18 points and 11 rebounds. McGaffee added 12 points for Lebanon.
The marathon continues for Richlands as they travel to Emory & Henry College to face Chilhowie tonight. The Pioneers travel to Union tonight in CMC play.

At Charles C. Long Gymnasium
RICHLANDS (10-3)
Phillips 7 1-2 15, Fuller 4 2-2 12, Ratliff 1 0-0 3, Ball 6 0-3 13, Lowe 1 1-2 3, Herndon 2 0-0 6, Moir 1 0-0 3, Farris 1 0-0 3, Smith 2 0-0 5, Thompson 1 0-0 3, Richardson 0 0-0 0, Taylor 0 0-0 0, Horn 3 0-0 6, Altizer 0 0-0 0, Hedrick 0 0-0 0. Totals 28 3-9 72.
LEBANON (4-12)
Helton 7 2-2 18, Stamper 2 0-2 6, Long 0 0-2 0, Hooker 0 2-2 2, McGaffee 5 1-2 12, Boyd 2 1-2 5, Dishman 0 0-0 0, Anderson 0 0-0 0, Sykes 1 0-1 2. Totals 17 6-13 45.
Richlands...............24 23 18 7 — 72
Lebanon.................14 8 9 14 — 45
3-point goals – Richlands 10 (Herndon 2, Moir 1, Fuller 2, Ratliff 1, Farris 1, Smith 1, Thompson 1, Ball 1), Lebanon 5 (Helton 2, Stamper 2, McGaffee 1). Total fouls –Richlands 15, Lebanon 6. Fouled out - none. Technicals – none. JV game – Richlands 28-9.