2A West FINAL: Dan River 50 Martinsville 46
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Re: FINAL: Dan River 50 Martinsville 46
DR seems to be peaking at right time, while Martinsville is going the other way.
DR seems to be peaking at right time, while Martinsville is going the other way.
Great win Wildcats!
We trailed for the first 3 quarters, but we didn't give up and pull out the region title over a good Martinsville squad.
Here are some video highlights on the game:
WSET Full Court Press
http://www.wset.com/clip/11209096/full-court-press-scores-band-highlights-friday
Here's the article from today's Danville Register & Bee
Dan River takes 2A West Region title
BY JORDAN BONDURANT jbondurant@registerbee.com (434)-791-7996 Posted12 hours ago
RIDGEWAY - After trailing by 10 mid-way through the third quarter, 3-point shooting and half-court defense took center stage as Dan River defeated Martinsville 50-46 for the 2A West Region boys basketball championship on Friday.
With the win, Dan River (22-3) will play the 2A East Region runner-up in the semifinals of the Group 2A tournament at 5:15 p.m. on Monday at the Siegel Center on the campus of Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond. The 2A East representatives will be determined following semifinal games today.
Snow in southwestern Virginia forced the Virginia High School League to move the championship game from its original date and location of Thursday at Richlands Middle School to Friday at Magna Vista High School. The goal was to allow the game to take place closer to the Dan River and Martinsville fan bases.
Dan River struggled in the game's opening minutes, as Martinsville (21-7) opened on a 9-1 run. The Wildcats committed five turnovers in that span. Dan River head coach Kenny Murphy blames the slow start partly to the Wildcats getting to Magna Vista a little later than anticipated.
"We left the school kind of late, and normally we'd be here and dressed with plenty enough time to get some warm-up shots up," he said. "But we didn't get a chance to do so."
Martinsville built a seven-point cushion that lasted throughout the first half. The Bulldogs, who usually have a pretty solid perimeter shooting effort, instead challenged the Dan River post players, allowing scoring totals in the first half to spread equally among Jay Dandridge, Cam Bradley, Zanthus Hairston and Curtis Pilson.
Pilson was matched with forward Kasseem Harris for the latter part of the first half, but Murphy was forced to switch things up after seeing the guard's speed on display.
"Kasseem couldn't guard (Pilson), who's a lot quicker," Murphy said. "We went to a smaller lineup just to be able to compete at that level."
The second half saw a complete shift in momentum, and it started with JoJo Reynolds.
Reynolds hit two 3's, cutting the deficit to four with under two minutes in the quarter. The Bulldogs led 39-36 going into the fourth, but Reynolds shot from 25 feet away tied the game with 6:48 left. That shifted any other momentum Martinsville had in the Wildcats' favor.
"Everybody was just working together, and we were just feeling it," Reynolds said. "So when we made the right passes, the shots just fell."
Reynolds' shot selection was an area of emphasis Murphy wanted him to focus on.
"When you come to somebody else's gym, both the wings and the top of the key are areas where you should be shooting 3's from," Murphy said. "He's been our backbone the last couple games, and he's really come along."
But Dan River's defense down the stretch forced Martinsville into ill-timed turnovers. The Bulldogs gave the ball up eight times in the second half, compared to three for Dan River. Even when Martinsville went up by 10, Murphy was more focused on stopping the bleeding with defense than burying shots on offense to close the gap.
"That's one of the things I wanted to teach and preach to the kids was getting stops, one stop at a time," Murphy said.
Dandridge led all scorers with 13 points and had four rebounds and three assists. Holland added 11 points, seven rebounds and two blocked shots for the Bulldogs.
Three Dan River players, Reynolds, Quantez Terry and Tremaine Edmunds, all tied for the team-high with 11 points. Edmunds was the breakout player for the Wildcats, however, grabbing 14 rebounds and blocking five shots.
The Wildcats head to Richmond looking for a second consecutive state championship, and looking back on the journey, Murphy was impressed with how much his team has grown up.
"They've matured in a hurry," Murphy said. "It's a learning process, and we're taking it one step at a time. We're still taking some baby steps, but they're learning. They're learning on the fly, and that's probably one of the best ways to learn."
Bondurant is a sports reporter for the Danville Register & Bee. Follow him on Twitter: @JBondurantGDR
DAN RIVER 50, MARTINSVILLE 46
MARTINSVILLE (21-7)
Dandridge 13, Holland 11, Hairston 7, Bradley 6, Pilson 6, Martin 3, Carter 0, King 0, Watkins 0. Totals 17 8-17 46.
DAN RIVER (22-3)
Edmunds 11, Reynolds 11, Terry 11, Stephens 7, Stone 6, Harris 3, Cullen 1, Eubanks 0. Totals 18 10-23 50.
Score by quarter
Martinsville 17 9 13 7 -- 46
Dan River 10 9 17 14 -- 50
3-point goals: Martinsville 4 (Dandridge, Hairston, Pilson, Martin). Dan River 4 (Reynolds 3, Stone).
Dan River Takes 2A West Region Title
We trailed for the first 3 quarters, but we didn't give up and pull out the region title over a good Martinsville squad.
Here are some video highlights on the game:
WSET Full Court Press
http://www.wset.com/clip/11209096/full-court-press-scores-band-highlights-friday
Here's the article from today's Danville Register & Bee
Dan River takes 2A West Region title
BY JORDAN BONDURANT jbondurant@registerbee.com (434)-791-7996 Posted12 hours ago
RIDGEWAY - After trailing by 10 mid-way through the third quarter, 3-point shooting and half-court defense took center stage as Dan River defeated Martinsville 50-46 for the 2A West Region boys basketball championship on Friday.
With the win, Dan River (22-3) will play the 2A East Region runner-up in the semifinals of the Group 2A tournament at 5:15 p.m. on Monday at the Siegel Center on the campus of Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond. The 2A East representatives will be determined following semifinal games today.
Snow in southwestern Virginia forced the Virginia High School League to move the championship game from its original date and location of Thursday at Richlands Middle School to Friday at Magna Vista High School. The goal was to allow the game to take place closer to the Dan River and Martinsville fan bases.
Dan River struggled in the game's opening minutes, as Martinsville (21-7) opened on a 9-1 run. The Wildcats committed five turnovers in that span. Dan River head coach Kenny Murphy blames the slow start partly to the Wildcats getting to Magna Vista a little later than anticipated.
"We left the school kind of late, and normally we'd be here and dressed with plenty enough time to get some warm-up shots up," he said. "But we didn't get a chance to do so."
Martinsville built a seven-point cushion that lasted throughout the first half. The Bulldogs, who usually have a pretty solid perimeter shooting effort, instead challenged the Dan River post players, allowing scoring totals in the first half to spread equally among Jay Dandridge, Cam Bradley, Zanthus Hairston and Curtis Pilson.
Pilson was matched with forward Kasseem Harris for the latter part of the first half, but Murphy was forced to switch things up after seeing the guard's speed on display.
"Kasseem couldn't guard (Pilson), who's a lot quicker," Murphy said. "We went to a smaller lineup just to be able to compete at that level."
The second half saw a complete shift in momentum, and it started with JoJo Reynolds.
Reynolds hit two 3's, cutting the deficit to four with under two minutes in the quarter. The Bulldogs led 39-36 going into the fourth, but Reynolds shot from 25 feet away tied the game with 6:48 left. That shifted any other momentum Martinsville had in the Wildcats' favor.
"Everybody was just working together, and we were just feeling it," Reynolds said. "So when we made the right passes, the shots just fell."
Reynolds' shot selection was an area of emphasis Murphy wanted him to focus on.
"When you come to somebody else's gym, both the wings and the top of the key are areas where you should be shooting 3's from," Murphy said. "He's been our backbone the last couple games, and he's really come along."
But Dan River's defense down the stretch forced Martinsville into ill-timed turnovers. The Bulldogs gave the ball up eight times in the second half, compared to three for Dan River. Even when Martinsville went up by 10, Murphy was more focused on stopping the bleeding with defense than burying shots on offense to close the gap.
"That's one of the things I wanted to teach and preach to the kids was getting stops, one stop at a time," Murphy said.
Dandridge led all scorers with 13 points and had four rebounds and three assists. Holland added 11 points, seven rebounds and two blocked shots for the Bulldogs.
Three Dan River players, Reynolds, Quantez Terry and Tremaine Edmunds, all tied for the team-high with 11 points. Edmunds was the breakout player for the Wildcats, however, grabbing 14 rebounds and blocking five shots.
The Wildcats head to Richmond looking for a second consecutive state championship, and looking back on the journey, Murphy was impressed with how much his team has grown up.
"They've matured in a hurry," Murphy said. "It's a learning process, and we're taking it one step at a time. We're still taking some baby steps, but they're learning. They're learning on the fly, and that's probably one of the best ways to learn."
Bondurant is a sports reporter for the Danville Register & Bee. Follow him on Twitter: @JBondurantGDR
DAN RIVER 50, MARTINSVILLE 46
MARTINSVILLE (21-7)
Dandridge 13, Holland 11, Hairston 7, Bradley 6, Pilson 6, Martin 3, Carter 0, King 0, Watkins 0. Totals 17 8-17 46.
DAN RIVER (22-3)
Edmunds 11, Reynolds 11, Terry 11, Stephens 7, Stone 6, Harris 3, Cullen 1, Eubanks 0. Totals 18 10-23 50.
Score by quarter
Martinsville 17 9 13 7 -- 46
Dan River 10 9 17 14 -- 50
3-point goals: Martinsville 4 (Dandridge, Hairston, Pilson, Martin). Dan River 4 (Reynolds 3, Stone).
Dan River Takes 2A West Region Title
