Saints sweep rematches in Classic
Published 9:36 pm Tuesday, December 22, 2015
The Nansemond-Suffolk Academy Holiday Classic was a success both for the school and its boys’ basketball team.
The Saints followed up their 56-28 defeat of Southampton Academy on Friday with a 57-34 victory over Tidewater Academy on Saturday afternoon.
Nansemond-Suffolk Academy freshman guard/forward Matthew Patterson rises above the defense of Tidewater Academy during the NSA Holiday Classic on Saturday. The Saints defeated the Warriors 57-34.
NSA coach Lamont Strothers said his team came out a little sluggish against the Warriors because of having just played the night before.
The Warriors also played the night before, losing 73-46 to Broadwater Academy, their second straight loss to the Vikings this year. But the Warriors were possibly invigorated by the prospect of revenge on Saturday as they looked to avoid a second loss this season to the Saints, as well.
“Tidewater came out energetic and had a game plan, and we just had to make adjustments,” Strothers said.
The game was close early on, with Nansemond-Suffolk leading only 12-10 after the first period. The Saints widened that lead slightly by halftime when they were up 24-17.
“We picked it up defensively,” Strothers said, noting this was particularly true late in the first half and in the third quarter.
NSA led 37-27 going into the fourth quarter when it really pulled away.
“We’ve been playing solid defense, and then Matthew Shiembob came in and hit some big shots, and that kind of opened the floor a little bit,” Strothers said.
Shiembob, a senior guard, scored nine of his game-high 18 points in the fourth quarter. He made four three-pointers for the game.
Saints senior forward Hunter Brinkley finished with 13 points, hitting a trio of three-pointers, while sophomore point guard Erek Smith recorded 10 points.
“I thought it was a good Classic,” Strothers said of the two-day, four-team and four-game event. “It was a good test for our kids.”
He was pleased that NSA (5-2) was playing both of its opponents — Southampton and Tidewater — for the second time this season and still won definitively.
“Us still being able to win by a big margin shows our improvement,” he said.
Broadwater opened play on Saturday with a 55-48 win against Southampton.
Nansemond-Suffolk director of boys’ athletics T.W. Johnson was pleased with how the Classic went, drawing fans of all four participating teams.
“We had a good crowd on Friday night, and it was great to see some of our recent alums come back and come out to a game and cheer the guys on,” he said. “I thought Coach Strothers and the players had a great weekend being able to get two wins, a good way to head into the break.”
