Blog Live Blog -- Nansemond River at J.R. Tucker

[VaPrepsRod]

Stay tuned to this thread all day as I live blog the 8th Annual VirginiaPreps Hoops Classic from J.R. Tucker High School in Richmond.

Tipping in a few minutes will be the Nansemond River Warriors against the host J.R. Tucker Tigers...

 

[VaPrepsRod]

Nansemond River steals the tip on the way up and takes possession first but fails to score.

No buckets through the first minute of the contest as neither team has found their offensive rhythm early.

A three-pointer by Josh Hale opens the scoring as the Warriors lead early and are pressing on defense.

Nate Foster adds a second three-pointer to make it 6-0 Warriors through two minutes.

 

[VaPrepsRod]

Tucker gets on the board when Robert Beran hits one of two free throws.

NR's Josh Covington is fouled on his 15-foot attempt and hits one of two for the Warriors who lead 7-0 with 5:04 left in the first.

 

[VaPrepsRod]

Josh Covington drives to the hoop in transition and is fouled on his shot attempt. He hits one of two.

A driving layup in transition by Resean White pushes the Nansemond River lead to 10-1 midway through the quarter and Tucker calls timeout.

 

[VaPrepsRod]

Josh Covington hits two free throws to go up 12-1 and Tucker turns the ball over on their ensuing possession then the Tigers call another timeout with 3:12 remaining in the first.

Thus far, Covington's ability with the ball and the Nansemond River defense, in both the full court press and halfcourt, has caused problems for Tucker.

 

[VaPrepsRod]

Steal and a layup for NR's Darius Jones further extends the Warriors' lead to 14-1. Tucker responds with their first bucket of the game with 1:28 to go in the first as Methab Khara finds the range inside.

 

[VaPrepsRod]

Kian Spruill hits a runner in the lane for Tucker as they get buckets on back-to-back trips to cut the lead to 14-5 Nansemond River.

Torrence Williams answers back for the Warriors to push to 16-5.

As the first quarter ends, Nansemond River leads J.R. Tucker 16-7.

 

[VaPrepsRod]

Josh Covington hits Josh Hale in transition for a breakout bucket as Nansemond River continues to push the pace in the contest.

Uthman Mumin hits a pair of free throws for Tucker and, following a Warriors turnover, Kian Spruill scores for the Tigers as they pull to within seven at 18-11.

Covington quickly helps Nansemond answer with a free throw, a steal and an assist to make it 20-11.

 

[VaPrepsRod]

Two quick scores by Tucker followed by a steal makes it 21-15 Nansemond then Roman Thomas hits a bucket from the lane to make it 21-17 with 4:47 to go in the half as the Warriors call time out.

Tucker's defense has really clamped down on the Warriors who are getting only one shot per trip right now.

21-17 3:54 to go.

 

[VaPrepsRod]

A driving and twisting layup by Josh Hale temporarily cools off Tucker as Namsemond gets back up by five at 24-19.

Kian Spruill answers back for the Tigers to close to 24-21 with 2:33 to go.

An and-one bucket by Uthman Mumin closes the gap to 26-25 with 1:48 to go and he converts the free throw to knot the game at 26 as the half nears.

Inside bucket by Andre King for Tucker knots us back up at 28 after a Nansemond River score.

Developing situation: Tucker PG Kian Spruill has picked up his 4th foul of the game, could cost them in the second half.

 

[VaPrepsRod]

Halftime: Nansemond River 31, J.R. Tucker 31

Live stats for the game are being provided by STATVA.com and can be found here...

https://basketball.exposureevents.com/68668/event/live/1262242

At the half:
Nansemond River leaders
Scoring: Josh Hale 7
Rebounds: Resean White 4
Assists:Josh Covington 3

J.R. Tucker leaders
Scoring: Uthman Mumin 7
Rebounds: Mathab Khara 3
Assists: Kian Spruill 2

 

[VaPrepsRod]

Nansemond River opens the second half just as they opened the game, using pressure defense and working the offense for short jumpers to score the first five points of the half to lead 36-31.

Timeout Tucker.

 

[VaPrepsRod]

A Nansemond River bucket goes in and out before Tucker's Rocky Coker answers from in the paint as the Tigers get their first bucket of the second half with 3:30 to go in the third.

A steal and score by Josh Covington is answered by a transition bucket by Roman Thomas to make it 38-35 with 2:20 to play in the third.

Nansemond gets three inside shots on the other end by fails to convert then Tucker misses twice on their own end before Uthman Mumin finds the range inside.

38-37 Nansemond River 1:04 left in third.

 

[VaPrepsRod]

Putback score by Colby Williams gives Nansemond River a 40-37 lead at the end of the third.

 

[VaPrepsRod]

The Warriors are holding steady through the first minute of the fourth quarter leading 43-39 with 6:30 to play.

Roman Thomas powers his way through a double-team for an and-one bucket then follows with a free throw to make it 43-42 Nansemond with six to go.

 

[VaPrepsRod]

Josh Covington answers back with a score for the Warriors to make it 45-42 with 5:29 to play.

Roman Thomas again answers inside to cut the NR lead to one with four to play at 45-44.

 

[VaPrepsRod]

Dy'Quan McGhee follows up his own missed shot with a rebound and a bucket (BIG PLAY) then Josh Covington scores again for Nansemond River off a steal to push the Warriors' out to a 49-44 lead with 3:08 to go

 

[VaPrepsRod]

Roman Thomas is fouled on the way to the hoop but only converts one of two free throws to make it 49-45 Nansemond.

A driving score by Covington furthers the Warriors advantage to six, but Robert Beran is fouled while shooting inside. Hits the first, nails the second and the Tigers are within four with 2 to play.

 

[VaPrepsRod]

Nansemond turns it over on the ensuing possession and Thomas gets a bucket inside to make it a two-point game with 1:30 to go.

Covington misses on a drive but the ball goes out of bounds on Tucker.

0:40 to go, NR 51, JRT 49

 

[VaPrepsRod]

Josh Hale hits a free throw but it's called off due to a lane violation, so JRT gets the ball down two with 40 seconds to play.

Ramel Barrett scores quickly underneath to knot the game at 51.

Warriors timeout with 13 seconds to go.

 

[VaPrepsRod]

NR inbounds and gets a drive and a dish but Covington's three-point attempt at the buzzer is blocked out of bounds by Thomas.

We go to overtime at 51-51.

 

[VaPrepsRod]

Overtime scoring is opened by Josh Hale who hits a deep jumper from the corner.

Again, the Warriors have pushed themselves out in front with a free throw by Covington to make it 56-51.

He follows with a driving bucket to make it 58-51 with two minutes to play

 

[VaPrepsRod]

With under two to play, JRT will have to foul to get back into this one, down 58-51.

A traveling violation on their next possession hurts as the Warriors hold the ball with just over a minute to go.

Stall ball works well for Nansemond as they are able to run the clock down to 1:05 before Covington is fouled. He misses the first, but makes the second to lead 59-51.

 

[VaPrepsRod]

For the first time in their five appearances in the VirginiaPreps Hoops Classic, the Nansemond River Warriors have earned a win as they topped the J.R. Tucker Tigers 62-51 in overtime.

This was only the third overtime game in the eight-year history of the VirginiaPreps.com Hoops Classic.

The other two were a 2012 game with Landstown beating Middleburg 67-63 and a 2014 contest in which Cape Henry beat John Marshall 52-49.

 

[VaPrepsRod]

Click here to hear post-game audio from Nansemond River head coach Ed Young