Nansemond River High School’s boys’ basketball team was recently mired in its longest losing streak in the 10-plus years that Ed Young has been its coach, and then senior Matt Allmond stepped up to help restore order.

He turned in back-to-back standout performances on Dec. 29 and 30 to help the Warriors win the McBee Holiday Tournament in South Carolina, and he, consequently, has become the Duke Automotive-Suffolk News-Herald Player of the Week.

Allmond scored 20 points on 8-of-12 shooting with 10 rebounds and three blocks in a 61-51 victory against Central High School of Pageland, S.C., on Dec. 29. In the championship game the next day against host McBee High School, he contributed 22 points to a 60-50 Warrior win.

The victories lifted Nansemond River to 6-4 at the time. It had started the season 4-0, then dropped four straight.

“I just wanted to win, I was tired of losing,” Allmond said. “I feel the team was tired of losing, so I just went out there and tried to give everything I had.”

Coach Young was pleased with Allmond’s performances.

“He was the best player in the tournament,” Young said, adding people were asking if he is getting college offers. “They didn’t do an outstanding player (award), but had they done it, he definitely would have won it.”

Allmond also acknowledged his teammates’ help.

“I couldn’t have done a lot of stuff without the big men screening,” he said. “The guards set me up with nice looks.”

His reference to big men was directed toward senior Keion Roberts and junior Josh Stills.

It is actually the 6-foot-3-inch Allmond that stands the tallest on a Nansemond River team known for its lanky players in the past.

Young said that at the beginning of the year, “We felt he had the potential to be a starter.”

Allmond had spent three years on NR’s junior varsity team, and “he was earmarked to make varsity as a junior,” Young said.

Unfortunately, Allmond had a rough bout of appendicitis, which significantly set back his offseason preparations.

“He ended up having a real good year on JV,” Young said.

Young values Allmond’s presence on the team this year, describing him as “one of those long lanky athletes that we’re known for. He does spearhead the head of our press because of his length.”

Allmond could be spotted on the hardwood when he was very young. He said he got his start “when I was about 3, playing rec.”

He played with Suffolk Parks and Recreation at Northern Shores Elementary School, but he said his affection for the sport goes back further.

“I’ve loved basketball since I was a baby,” he said.

He recalled his mother telling him the key to cheering him up when he was sick as a small toddler.

“All you’ve got to do is put a little plush basketball in my hand, and I’ll be good,” he said. “So, I just love the sport, and then when “Space Jam,” the Michael Jordan and Looney Tunes movie, when that came out, that just made it hit even more. So, it’s been my favorite sport and something I’ve loved ever since.”

Allmond aspires to play at the college level, and he is working to improve his game while also hoping to help the currently 6-6 Warriors improve.

“It’s frustrating,” he said of the season. “We’re all frustrated, but at the same time, we know this is only the beginning of the season. We just passed the halfway mark on Thursday, so we have the whole next half of the season to pick it up.”

Allmond draws motivation simply from being part of Nansemond River’s storied basketball program.

“Everybody wants to wear this jersey, but everybody doesn’t get a chance to,” he said. “So, just being a part of the Warrior family is a motivator.”