Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, March 22, 1992 TAG: 9203220237
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C1 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: BOB TEITLEBAUM SPORTSWRITER
DATELINE: CHARLOTTESVILLE LENGTH: Medium
The Warriors used a couple of spurts to run away from the Vikings as they claimed an 85-62 victory and the Group AA boys' state basketball championship Saturday at the University of Virginia's University Hall.
"They were so quick off the floor. We've seen larger teams, but Nansemond River worked hard and went after all the loose balls," said Northside coach Billy Pope.
The loss ended a fantastic run that saw the Vikings upset Laurel Park in the Region III Tournament final and Matoaca in the state semifinals. Both were ranked in the top 10 of The Associated Press' poll.
The two spurts came in the second and fourth quarters. The Warriors (27-1) went on a 14-2 run to lead 32-17 midway through the second period. The Vikings pulled to 59-50 early in the final period, but Nansemond River closed out the game with an 18-2 run.
"Once we get in our game, run up and down the floor, get in our flow, it's hard to slow us down," said Nansemond River forward Derrick Bryant. The 6-foot-4 senior was key to the spurts as he kept getting rebounds and hitting teammates with passes on the run.
The Vikings (22-6) recovered from the first run. They scored the first eight points of the second half to cut a 15-point deficit to seven. The Warriors didn't have a point for the first four minutes.
"The kids felt that they [the Vikings] would roll over and die. But you have to come out and play as you did the first half," said Nansemond River coach Spencer Mayfield. "That's when I called time and gave them an old-fashioned tongue lashing."
The Vikings might have come closet, but Pope was assessed a technical foul late in the third quarter and the Warriors were able to hold the lead at nine. Then the Vikings' Jimmy Porter was called for a personal foul and drew a technical with the score 59-50 with 6:27 left. Mayfield's words might not have turned the game around, but the Vikings weren't the same after the second technical.
"I didn't say anything," Pope said. "But as a coach, I get excited. But I don't know why [he called a technical]. My job is to coach."
Porter picked up his fifth foul on the technical.
"Walt [Derey] said I said something, but I don't remember it," the Northside junior said.
While the Warriors stopped the Vikings as a team, they didn't stop 6-foot-5 Derey. After setting the state high school record for all classifications with 28 rebounds in Friday's victory over Matoaca, he had 16 more rebounds and 26 points Saturday.
For three state tournament games, Derey had 55 rebounds, and topped Bryant Stith's record of 49 set in 1987. Stith is wrapping up his college basketball career with Virginia in the National Invitation Tournament.
Still, it wasn't an easy day for Derey because Nansemond River players blocked 10 shots, some of them taken by the Northside center.
"I thought I did pretty well, but they came from everywhere on the shots. They had a lot of help from the opposite side," said Derey.
Mayfield admitted his team didn't stop Derey.
"We tried to do the same thing as we did to the big boy [Laurel Park's Odell Hodge] yesterday," Mayfield said. "We had a man in front and in back of him. We got the ball because sometimes they didn't toss it high enough to get over the man [in front of Derey] and other times they threw it too high."
The Warriors were led by George Porter's 28 points. Porter was down the floor in a streak to get passes from Bryant, and a couple of times he stole the ball from Northside's Aaron Burford at midcourt for layups. Nansemond River had 12 steals.
"He's right up at the top," Burford said when asked if George Porter was the quickest player he had faced. "He'd wait until a time that I didn't protect the ball and then he'd get it."
Pope said that even after the final spurt his team didn't give up.
\ see microfilm for box score
Memo: shorter version ran in the Metro edition.