Patrick Henry head basketball coach Jack Esworthy was undoubtably putting together some travel plans for Richmond after Monday night’s first round of the Group 6A South Region.
He and his Patriot team hope to need the maps to the capital city for a couple more weeks.
Jumping out to a 20-10 lead after the opening quarter, Patrick Henry methodically put away visiting C.C. Hylton 67-46 to advance to the regional semifinal Wednesday night for a 7:45 tipoff at the Virginia Commonwealth University Siegel Center. PH will go up against powerhouse Colonial Forge who has only suffered one loss this season.
A win Wednesday would send the Patriots back to Richmond Friday night for the 6A South final where both finalist would be assured of a spot in the state pairings and a possible return to VCU for the Final-4.
The tempo was established quickly Monday night. The Bulldogs found the rims unfriendly in the early going while PH was hot from the perimeter. The Patriots went to the halftime break up 32-19.
Hylton closed to 32-24 in the first minutes of the third frame, but junior Thomas Stockstill and seniors Trey Terry, Christian Kirchman, Ty Esworthy and Tyler Pollard each followed with scores that completed a 10-1 Patriot run, giving PH a much-welcomed cushion heading to the fourth. The Patriots led 48-36 after three quarters.
The Patriots, who hit 21-of-25 free throws for the game, were frequent visitors to the charity stripe down the stretch in outscoring the Bulldogs 19-10 in the final eight minutes.
Kirchman finished with a game-high 17 points for Patrick Henry, with Esworthy adding 16 and Terry chipping in 12. Kendrick Tucker netted 9 points for PH.
Senior guard Mike Hamlin had a team-high 13 points for Hylton, with freshman Dwayne Hill adding 9 points for the Bulldogs.
Bill Turner