Cave Spring Pictures
George Wythe Pictures

The Knights of Cave Spring, armed with an incredible offensive punch in All-State guard J.J. Redick, held on to defeat the George Wythe Bulldogs 70-62. Redick poured in 43 points to add to the 68 he had already scored in the first two tournament games to finish with 111, eclipsing the previous record of 94 set by Mike Evans of B.T. Washington in 1992. George Wythe came out in the 1st quarter with the jitters and could only manage 6 points for the period. Cave Spring took advantage with Redick scoring 13 to take a commanding 15-6 lead. The Bulldogs came roaring back in the 2nd quarter until Taj Henley went out with a leg injury with 6:27 remaining the half. Jake Kaplan came off the bench for the Knights and pulled down 5 rebounds to keep Cave Spring ahead 30-20 at intermission. George Wythe, relying on their perimeter game, came up short for the half, hitting on only 1 of 9 from downtown. Cave Spring tried to throw the knockout punch in the next period, with an 11-2 run at the start of the half. J.J. hit 2 quick threes and the Knights seemed to have the game put away with a comfortable 52-36 lead at the end of the period. However, in the fourth quarter, the Bulldogs started clawing back. Using an intense pressure defense, they pulled to within 7 with 4:36 left when Jesse Pellot-Rosa hit a crucial three that had the Bulldog faithful screaming for more. Both squads traded baskets for several minutes until Tyree Evans and Pellot-Rosa both hit from downtown to cut the lead to 3 with 32 ticks left on the clock but the Knights managed to convert crucial free throws to put the game out of reach. Matt Hamilton had a great floor game for Cave Spring and Tom Hagan chipped in with 11 crucial points and 5 boards as the Knights celebrated as the 2002 Champs!

Lady Cavs of Princess Anne Earn State Title over West Springfield

Princess Anne Pictures
West Springfield Pictures

Princess Anne used a pressure full-court defense and timely shooting to capture the AAA Girls State Championship over the Spartans of West Springfield by a score of 49-42. The Cavalier defense came up 17 steals and produced numerous West Springfield turnovers to take them out of their usual steady game. Both teams came out nervous as they were each feeling the other out like two boxers in the 1st round of a title bout. Xiomora Hernadez hit a big three at the buzzer to put the Cavaliers up 8-5 at the end of the 1st period. The 2nd quarter was a seesaw battle with Brittany Harmon finishing the half with 8 points and 4 boards to lead Princess Anne to a 22-20 lead as the ladies entered the locker room for intermission. Janielle Dodds, the Northern Region Player of the Year, controlled the boards for West Springfield as she accumulated 6 rebounds by intermission. The Lady Spartans began the 3rd quarter with a 5-0 run to take their first lead of the game behind a crucial 3-pointer from Sarah Flanagan. Princess Anne then turned the tables and went on a 9-0 run of their own to make it 33-25 with 2:46 left the period. The quarter ended with the Cavaliers in the lead 35-27. West Springfield decided to make a run for the title as Janielle Dodds scored the first 5 points of the quarter and the Cavaliers went on a 9-0 run to close the lead to 3. Princess Anne seemed to be in trouble with stars Amber Mason Latoya Williams both in four trouble with 4 apiece. Ashley Mason, Amber's twin sister, hit a huge 3-pointer with 2:30 remaining in the game to give Princess Anne a 42-38 lead and then hit 2 critical free throws with 53 ticks left to give them a five-point lead at 47-42 and the game was over. Congratulations to both teams on great seasons!

Nandua Gains First State Title Over Altavista

Nandua Pictures
Altavista Pictures

The Warriors of Nandua were victorious over the Colonels of Altavista as they used a tenacious defense and strong board play to come out on top by a score of 65-49 and capture the Boys A State Championship. B.A. Walker was everywhere for Nandua, scoring 30 and hauling in 13 rebounds to lead the Warriors. He started out early leading Nandua to a 17-10 lead in the 1st quarter, netting 11 points and netting 6 boards on 5-for-8 shooting. Altavista loosened up in the second period, going on a 11-1 run and building a 35-31 halftime lead behind Scott Jester's three 3-pointers and the overall play of Kenny Hunt, who finished the half with 13 points, 4 assists and 4 steals. The Colonels hit 8 threes for the half and none was bigger than Nathan Eakin's bomb at the buzzer. Most of the third period saw both teams trading baskets until Marcus Riley connected on 2 big free throws to give Nandua at 42-41 lead with 1:21 remaining in the quarter, their first lead since early in the 2nd period. Nandua managed to outscore Altavista 17-7 in the quarter to take a 48-42 lead. The Colonels didn't score in the fourth stanza until there was 4:29 left on the clock and by that time, B.A.Walker and the Warriors had the game well in hand. Altavista finished the contest shooting 10-for-36 from three-point land and the inside power of Nandua led to a huge discrepancy in rebounds for the game, hauling in 35 boards to Altavista's 14. Kenny Hunt and Scott Jester combined for 34 points to pace Altavista while Marcus Riley and A.J. Custis both scored in double digits for the State Champs.

Martinsville Captures 2nd Straight Boys AA State Title

Martinsville Pictures

The Martinsville Bulldogs outlasted the Blacksburg Indians to earn back-to-back State Titles in a 70-67 shoot-out. The first quarter had both teams exploding in spurts as Blacksburg opened up the game on a 8-0 tear only have Martinsville come roaring back with 6 points of their own to cut into the lead. The first period ended with Blacksburg clinging to a 17-16 lead. Paul Velander, the hero of Fridays's game, had 7 for the period and was matched by the Bulldogs' Brian Frasier who contributed 7 big points to his team's cause. Martinsville took their first lead 18-17 at the 7:27 mark and used a vicious half-court defense to keep Blacksburg off their game. The half ended with the Bulldogs holding a 37-30 edge. Frasier had 15 at the half and Samuel Wheeler was doing his job on the boards for Blacksburg, hauling in 7 rebounds. There was no quit in the Indians as they managed a 12-0 run at the end of the third period until Rache Waller hit a big bomb to stop the bleeding for Martinsville. With Kameron King throwing down 8 points for Martinsville in the period, the score was knotted at 53 going into the 4th quarter. The last period had both teams alternating baskets until Martinsville went on a 6-0 run late the period to take a 63-59 lead with less than 3 minutes left. William Preston hit a big 2-pointer with 1:19 left and then tipped in a missed free throw to give the Bulldogs a 6 point lead. Blacksburg went into the desperation mode, trying to throw down 3-point bombs, but couldn't connect as Martinsville iced the game from the charity stripe to win by 3. Samuel Wheeler gets MVP honors for Blacksburg finishing the contest with 20 points and hauling in 13 boards. Marcis Travis and Paul Velander also scored in double figures for the Indians. Brian Frasier had a great overall game, scoring 19, rebounding 8 Blacksburg miscues. Rache Waller, Jovan Williamson and Kameron King combined for another 35 points for the State Champs.