Boys Basketball Roundup: Lafayette Holds Off Late Surge from Warhill

It may not have been the most important Bay Rivers District basketball game of the season, but Wednesday’s contest between Lafayette and Warhill was one of the most entertaining.

Lafayette (8-10, 8-9 Bay Rivers District) defeated Warhill 68-62 at home behind Trey Neville’s game-high 23 points.

The first quarter saw an unexpected source carry the Lafayette offense. Daquan Jacobs scored 10 of his 12 points in the first quarter, including eight consecutive points over the final three minutes.

Neville picked up the slack in the second quarter, scoring 12 points. Most of Neville’s points in the quarter were self-described “garbage points,” in which Neville planted himself under the basket and put back missed shots.

“He’s a veteran,” Lafayette coach Bobby Woollum said of Neville. “He’s tough and he competes. Offensively, we try to run everything around him. Our goal is to go inside-out, so we put some offense in where we pull him away from the basket, because he’s pretty talented out there.”

The game looked to be getting out of hand by the half as the Rams entered the locker room with a 32-22 lead, but the Lions refused to go away peacefully in the second half.

Warhill’s (6-15, 5-12) shooters began hitting jump shots — specifically 3-pointers — that were not falling with regularity in the first half, then Da’Shawn Cook, Ra’Shawn Cook and Cameron Aadahl each hit 3-pointers in the third quarter for Warhill.

Lafayette continued to get unexpected offensive lifts in the third quarter. Camden Underwood, who scored all seven of his points in the third quarter, stepped up when the rest of the Rams roster was struggling to find open looks on offense.

The fourth quarter was played at a breakneck pace as both teams pushed the ball up the court with urgency.

Da’Shawn Cook, who scored six points through the first three quarters, unleashed his pent up offensive potential in the fourth quarter.

The versatile combo guard scored seven points within the first minute of the fourth quarter for Warhill, which set the tone during an 11-4 run that allowed the Lions to tie the game at 48. Cook, who finished with 18 points, sank three treys during a 12-point fourth quarter.

“The second half they started hitting threes,” Woollum said. “The twins [Da’Shawn and Ra’Shawn Cook] are tough. When they start hitting threes, you’ve got to put your hands up and hope they start missing a few.”

With 2:35 remaining, Neville found himself facing the basket from behind the 3-point line with his defender giving him roughly two feet of space. Neville pulled up and drained the 3-pointer that put Lafayette back on top 58-56.

Leading 60-58 with 59.6 seconds left, Lafayette’s Keyshawn Jefferson was fouled while shooting a 3-pointer, sending him to the line for a trio of foul shots. Jefferson sank the first shot, but clanked the remaining two shots to give the Rams a three point buffer.

Ra’Shawn Cook coolly took the ball down the court and pulled up for a mid-range jumper from just above the free-throw stripe to bring Warhill back within one point.

After a pair of Lafayette free throws, Warhill’s Brian Stovall scored on a layup to bring the score to 63-62 in favor of the Rams with 14.7 seconds left.

Neville was immediately fouled on the inbounds and sank his two ensuing free throws. Warhill air-balled a desperation 3-pointer on the opposite end of the court, ending the Lions’ comeback chances.

Lafayette 68, Warhill 62

Lafayette (8-10, 8-9)

Jefferson 13, Woollum 5, Harley 7, Underwood 7, Canady 1, Neville 23, Jacobs 12

Warhill (6-15, 5-12)

D. Cook 18, R. Cook 12, Stovall 9, Belle 2, Dedmon 8, Aadahl 7, Lipscomb 6

Lafayette: 13 19 12 24 — 68
Warhill: 9 13 15 25 — 62
3-point goals: Lafayette 5 (Jefferson 2, Underwood, Neville 2), Warhill 8 (D. Cook 4, R. Cook 2, Aadahl 2)

Grafton Blows Out Poquoson

Even Sperling recorded a double-double that included a game-high 19 points to lead Grafton to a decisive 89-39 road win against Poquoson (1-18, 0-16 Bay Rivers District) on Wednesday.

The Clippers came out aggressively on both ends of the court, as turnovers on defense led to fast-break scoring opportunities.

Grafton (20-1, 16-1) led Poquoson 53-17 at the half.

Jacob Murillo contributed 18 points for Grafton. Isaiah Moore scored 12 points, while Adam King added 10.

The Clippers conclude their regular season Friday with a road matchup against Tabb.

Grafton 89, Poquoson 39

Grafton (20-1, 16-1)

Murillo 18, Keidinger 15, Durant 2, Moore 12, Sperling 19, A. King 10, R. King 2, Brown 4, Batte 3, Lechthaler 2, Alves 2

Poquoson (1-18, 0-16)

Baurle 2, Blaser 6, Biscan 9, Lawson 3, Fahringer 6, Callaway 2, Costulis 2, Zalameda 2, Young 2, Berry 5

Grafton: 32 21 21 15 — 89
Poquoson: 10 7 14 8 — 39
3-point goals: Grafton 10 (Murillo 2, Keidinger 5, Sperling 2, A. King), Poquoson 3 (Biscan, Lawson, Berry)

Bruton Beats New Kent

Daniel Jones and James Taylor each scored 12 points during Bruton’s 81-58 home win against New Kent (5-14, 2-14 Bay Rivers District) on Wednesday.

Bruton (17-2, 15-2) carried a 37-29 lead heading into the half before extending the lead further in the second half.

The Panthers conclude their season by traveling to play Smithfield on Feb. 13.

Bruton 81, New Kent 58

Bruton (17-2, 15-2)

Jones 12, Kissoon 8, Florence 6, Carr 6, Edwards 7, J.Taylor 12, Adkins 9, Danek 4, Blow 2, Shannon 4, D. Taylor 11.

New Kent (5-14, 2-14)

Claytor 11, Curle 1, J. Cox 8, Woodley 3, Lugg 17, Jenkins 2, Pierce 1, Whitlow 10, T. Cox.

Bruton: 12 25 20 24 — 81
New Kent: 18 11 15 14 — 58
Slow Start Stalls Falcons Against Smithfield

A hot-shooting Smithfield team raced ahead of York and never looked back, as the Falcons dropped the contest 76-53 at home Wednesday night.

Ryan Jones of Smithfield (14-5, 12-3 Bay Rivers District) paced the Packers by scoring 23 of his game-high 25 points in the first half.

York scored the same amount of points as Smithfield in the second half.

Joe Riddick led the Falcons (8-13, 5-12), who will conclude their regular season by hosting Lafayette on Friday, with 12 points.

Smithfield 76, York 53

Smithfield (14-5, 12-3)

Shephard 14, Holloway 7, Wells 3, Jones 25, Pierce 10, Patron 3, Turner 7, Pullen 4, Elliott 1

York (8-13, 5-12)

McFadden 4, Jackson 1, Riddick 12, Kimrey 2, G. Simmons 3, L. Simmons 1, Nanartowich 5, Riggsbee 7, Collins 8, Lofton 3, Harp 5, Christian 2

Smithfield: 16 23 21 16 — 76
York: 4 12 19 18 — 53
3-point goals: Smithfield 9 (Jones 5, Shephard, Holloway, Wells, Turner), York 3 (Riddick, G. Simmons, Riggsbee)

Free Throws Crucial for Tabb Late in the Game

Tabb sank 12 free throws in the final quarter to hold off an upset-minded Jamestown 64-53 on the road Wednesday evening.

With the game tied in the fourth quarter, Tabb’s Terrell Sheffey hit some key jumpers to give the Tigers a small lead. From there, Jamestown (8-11, 7-10) was forced to foul in an attempt to save clock, but the Tigers (16-5, 13-4 Bay Rivers District) sank their free throws down the stretch.

Antwuan Hicks recorded 14 points for Tabb, while Mason Wang and Connor Swain each scored 12 points for Jamestown.

Tabb will finish its regular season by hosting Grafton on Friday, while Jamestown hosts Poquoson on the same day.

Tabb 64, Jamestown 53

Tabb (16-5, 13-4)

Sheffey 24, Hicks 14, Sebastien 8, Jackson 5, A. Brown 2, K. Brown 2, Pearson 2, Hunter 2

Jamestown (8-11, 7-10)

Wang 12, Swain 12, Lansford 10, Schmidt 6, Oh 6, Lipscomb 4, McDevitt 2, Ortiz 1

Tabb: 13 14 17 20 — 64
Jamestown: 7 12 20 16 — 53
3-point goals: Tabb 1 (Sheffey), Jamestown 5 (Lansford 2, Wang 2, Schmidt)

Tabb and Smithfield each defeated each other during the regular season, so Tabb takes the tiebreaker with more district wins. Warhill holds a head-to-head tiebreaker against York due to the Lions beating the Panthers twice during the regular season.