By Matthew Hatfield
Correspondent

Coming off an emotional 66-52 upset win over Southeastern District leader Great Bridge, Nansemond River Coach Ed Young decided to make a lineup change heading into the Warriors’ pivotal road tilt at Western Branch on Thursday night.

Inserted into the starting lineup was 6-foot-3 senior forward Mike Copeland, and the move was one that paid dividends. Playing arguably his best game of the season, Copeland put up 11 points and eight rebounds, while Nansemond River rolled to a 60-44 win in Chesapeake.

His performance couldn’t have come at a better time, with 6-foot-7 sophomore center Daniel Wallace sitting out and starters Shannon Evans, the team’s leading scorer, and John Joyce, the squad’s leading rebounder, battling foul trouble.

“With Daniel being out, Coach told us that he needed somebody to step up, so John and I had to do that in the paint. I also knew I had to do a little bit more scoring, because Shannon was out for the second and third quarter,” Copeland said afterwards.

“This was one of those games where we had to pick it up and do whatever was needed in order to win.”

Getting a marquee performance from senior point guard Dontrell Brite went a long way toward securing a win for Nansemond River. Brite stole the show with 22 points, 10 assists and three steals, coming up with countless breathtaking plays to further validate Young’s claim that he’s one of the best point guards in the state.

“Coach told me to go straight to the basket, make the easy lay-up if I’m there, and if I get stuck, dish it off like I usually do,” remarked Brite. “I felt I had to take over. Fortunately I was able to do that, get my teammates involved, and we took off from there.”

Time after time, Brite hit the turbo button and kicked it into high gear, effectively breaking down defenders off the dribble. It resulted in baskets for the Warriors, and their lead increased to as many as 18. From the second quarter on, Western Branch never drew any closer than eight points down.

“We know Dontrell is going to create for us, because he’s our point guard, so basically all we’ve got to do is get in the right places,” Copeland added.

“With his speed and quickness, he’ll get us the ball, and all we have to do is finish. Now that we’re near the end of the season, we know we all have to pick it up if we want to go far in regionals.”

Further aiding the Warriors’ cause was the play of their reserves. They got 12 points from their bench in the first half alone, with steady contributions from the likes of Ed Drew, Jay Melendez, Sterling Peden, Kyle Moore, Chris McMillian and Warren Beatty.

Poor foul shooting plagued the Bruins, who shot 6-for-23 from the charity stripe for the game and 2-for-14 in the first half. Nansemond River’s defense also held Western Branch leading scorer Rashon Woody to just five points in the second half.

The Warriors contained Western Branch’s perimeter attack as the Bruins shot just 2-of-20 from long distance, including 0-for-8 in the fourth quarter. Their solid defensive performance was a carryover from the fourth quarter against Great Bridge on Tuesday.

“Beating a No. 1 team always raises your confidence,” Brite said of that win. “This was a good win, because we didn’t start off slow like last game, and we played hard the whole game.”

Joyce finished with eight rebounds and five blocks. Evans chipped in eight points, and Melendez collected eight boards. Even without the services of their tallest player in Wallace, the Warriors ended up with a commanding 36-26 advantage on the backboards.

Now 16-4 overall and 13-3 in the Southeastern District, Nansemond River was on Friday set to host Oscar Smith, which defeated the Warriors 49-46 in January.

“It means a lot,” Brite said of the game’s magnitude. “Being that they beat us last time, it’s a big game, and we want payback.”