The marquee game at the VirginiaPreps Classic featured a Battle of State Champions and the game lived up to the advanced billing with Norcom defeating Potomac 73-67 in overtime. That snapped a 28-game Virginia winning streak for the Panthers.
East Carolina signee K.J. Davis was voted game MVP after scoring 28 points, grabbing eight rebounds, blocking five shots and making five 3-pointers. His 3-pointer to open the overtime period got Norcom off on the right foot and he finished the overtime by making 3 of 4 free throws to ice the win.
Davis got into early foul trouble and had to sit most of the 1st half. With Davis out, Norcom had no answer for Nana Opoku (6-foot-8), who has committed to Mount St. Mary's. He had 16 of Potomac's first 25 points points to stake the Panthers to a 25-17 lead with 2:35 to go in the 1st half.
Opoku scored his 17th and 18th points on two free throws that hit nothing but the bottom of the net. He finished the 1st half with 20 points for a Potomac team that led 27-19 before a furious finish to the half by Norcom.
The two free-throws by Opoku got K.J. Davis off the bench and he quickly changed the momentum of the game, scoring seven straight points to end the 1st half to give the Greyhounds a 30-29 lead.
Potomac regained the lead in the 3rd quarter and they led 48-47 after the 3rd quarter. A Davis jumper, with 3:40 to go, extended the Norcom lead to 57-52. The Greyhounds tried to run some clock to get Potomac out of their 1-3-1 zone. A long three from Devon McDonald trimmed the Norcom lead to 57-55 with three minutes to go.
Elyjah Camp made two free throws for Potomac to tie the game at 57 and the Panthers briefly took the lead on a layup with 90 seconds remaining. DeSean Roberts answered with a three and Norcom went back in front.
Junior guard Jaylen Williams hit a runner with two seconds left in regulation for Potomac to tie the score and force overtime.
Norcom, which has won five state titles under Leon Goolsby and three in a row, moved to 14-3 overall. To go with the strong performance from Davis, the Greyhounds saw senior guard Travis Ingram (Towson) fill the stat sheet with 14 points, eight rebounds and seven assists one night after recording a triple-double against Wilson. Junior guard Darien Allison added 12 points and four assists.
Potomac, winners of two of the past three 5A state titles, played without injured starters Charles Hyman (knee) and Jamal Washington (ankle), a 1st Team All-State performer a year ago. The Panthers are now 15-2 overall. Opoku finished with 23 points on 10-of-19 shooting and grabbed eight rebounds. Byron Scriber grabbed 11 rebounds.
This was a re-match of the 1st Annual VaPreps Classic, where Norcom edged Potomac 53-51 at Virginia Wesleyan College in 2009 on a buzzer-beater from guard Darius Theus, who went on to play at VCU.
** Photo Courtesy of Bob Lanum (BobLimages.com) **
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