Suffolk News-Herald

Visiting Western Branch dealt Nansemond River a heartbreaking district boys basketball loss on Tuesday night.

Losing 44-27 at the 3:28 mark in the third quarter, the Bruins looked like a new team in the final 11 minutes.

Keeping their composure and executing well down the stretch, Western Branch outscored the Warriors 33-13 from that point on to win 60-57.

The Bruins jumped out to an early 8-4 lead, but the Warriors were hot over the last three minutes of the first period.

A 7-0 run made the score 11-8 River, and after the Bruins had retaken the lead, a Vaughn Wilson three-pointer on the left wing from a pass out of the post by Nick Wright gave the Warriors a 14-12 lead at the end of the quarter.

Andre Jones paced the Warriors early, scoring seven in the first quarter.

For the second game in a row, Warrior substitutes made the difference in the second quarter.

A fast break layup by Wright made the score 25-20 River with 2:55 left in the half, giving him a total of eight points, three blocks, and three boards in less than five minutes.

Jhmar Lee came in for the last 0:51 of the second quarter and proceeded to knock in a tightly-guarded three-pointer at the buzzer to put the Warriors up 33-21.

Wilson and the Warriors continued to add to their lead early in the third period.

Wilson scored nine of the first 11 Warrior points of the new half, including two three-point buckets, to push the lead to 44-27, River’s largest of the night.

From there, the Bruins trimmed the lead to 11 at 50-39 going to the final period; and then held the Warriors without a point for the first 3:57 of the fourth.

By that time, the lead was just 50-48.

River temporarily regained control and had a 55-50 lead with three minutes to go. Western Branch responded with seven straight points to take their first lead since the first quarter with 1:24 left in the game.

Despite totaling only 11 turnovers for the game, River fell victim to three within the closing three minutes.

Wilson led the Warriors with 26 points, including four three-pointers.

Keith Josey led Nansemond River on the inside with 18 rebounds to go along with seven points.

As a team, River shot 21.9 percent (7-of-32) from the floor in the second half.

In girls action, the Lady Warriors fell 46-21.

The Nansemond River boys (5-5, 3-2) return to district play tonight at Hickory, while the girls head to Chesapeake.

A late run fell short for the Lakeland boys on Tuesday, as visiting Deep Creek scored four points in the final 34 seconds to grab a 69-62. Jaleel Nelson led the Cavaliers with 24 points, and Corey Davis had 18. Lakeland’s girls fell 80-38.

Latora King led King’s Fork with 22 points and Sharde Brown knocked in 17 in a 76-60 loss to host Indian River. The Bulldogs lost 94-20.

King’s Fork and Lakeland will collide Friday, with the boys battling at Fork and the girls at Lakeland.