Richards notches road wins

The Richards High School varsity boys basketball team opened the district phase of its schedule with consecutive road victories.

Richards defeated district foe Round Top-Carmine in an away game before the winter break and returned to action with a Jan. 4 win at district foe Fayetteville.

“That was a very tough win for us,” Travis Tennison, Richards athletic director and head boys basketball coach, said about the victory over Fayetteville. “It was something very needed.”

“Being able to get a win like that, it was a very good morale booster for our team,” he said. “We had to fight to keep our lead. We hadn’t been in a game like that.”

The first-year coach said senior “Noah Bay has done a good job leading the team.”

The returning starter averaged a team-high 19.7 points per game through nine games. Defensively, he led the team with four steals per game and ranked fourth among the Panthers with 5.9 rebounds a game.

The coach cited juniors Jayden Tennison, the team’s leading rebounder and second leading scorer, and Liam Wilson, third in scoring and in rebounding, for their strong play against Fayetteville. He said juniors Colton McCarthy and Ryan Wrobleski each contributed nine rebounds.

“It was a great team win,” he said.

With a 10-2 record entering Friday’s play, the Panthers have avoided injuries. “That’s kind of been God’s grace,” the coach said. “Staying healthy and keeping us injury free.”