NEWS & HEADLINES
February 2012
02/15 - Warriors win district championship
Written by Greg Merritt
The Eastern Shore District boys basketball title came down to a playoff game Saturday between Nandua and Arcadia. Arcadia won the coin toss to host the game, but Nandua came out strong and won the playoff to capture the title.
Charles Mapp scored 26 points to lead the Warriors to a 69-48 victory over the Firebirds in the fifth meeting of the season between these two district foes.
Thomas Brown and Mapp combined for 18 points in the first quarter as the Warriors took a double digit lead.
Mapp hit a pair of 3-pointers in the second quarter with the Warriors maintaining their double digit lead into the halftime.
Ronnie Holden scored six points and Jahad Triggs had four in he second quarter for the Firebirds, but it was not enough the chip into the Warrior lead.
Brown scored six more points in the third quarter and Mapp hit his third 3-pointer in the game as Nandua extended its lead in the third quarter.
Both teams substituted liberally in the fourth quarter. When the final buzzer sounded ending the game, Nandua held a 21-point lead, 69-48.
Joining Mapp in double figures for Nandua was Brown, who scored 19 points for the Warriors. Brendon Burrows scored nine points an Wesley Shrieves finished with eight points.
Bernard Beckett led the Firebirds with 14 points, including three 3-pointers. Triggs had 12 points, while Tyler Warner finished with nine points and Ronnie Holden had eight points.
"We played together as a team," said Nandua head coach Cedric Cooper. "And we played defense. Offense wins games, but defense wins championships."
The two teams split regular season games and finished he season tied for the district lead. At first district officials considered flipping coin to decide which team had the top seeding for the district tournament that began Monday. But with the win in the playoff game, Nandua is the top seed and was scheduled to host Chincoteague on Monday, while Arcadia was slated to host Northampton.
02/11 - Warriors edge Jackets
Written by Greg Merritt
The Nandua Warriors were able to fend off a suddenly surging Northampton Yellow Jacket team, but needed overtime to do it. Meanwhile Broadwater fell on the road to Isle of Wight.
The Eastern Shore District Boys Basketball Tournament is scheduled to begin on Tuesday, Feb. 14. Scheduling is dependent on the outcome of the Feb. 9 game between Arcadia and Northampton. An Arcadia win would mean the district race would end in a tie. It that happens, a coin will be flipped to decide the seeding in the tourney. Chincoteague would travel to the No. 1 seed (either Arcadia or Nandua), while Northampton will travel to the No. 2 seed (either Arcadia or Nandua).
The district championship game is scheduled to be played on Feb. 16 at the home court of the highest seed.
Nandua 92, Northampton 90
Nandua held on to at least a share of the district lead with Tuesday's exciting 92-90 overtime win over Northampton.
Thomas Brown scored 42 points in leading the Warriors to the thrilling victory. Charles Mapp scored 19 points for the Warriors.
The Yellow Jackets were led by Jab Onley with 21 points. In all, five Jackets scored in double figures, including Jamal Upshur with 15 points, Lionel Tankard and Chris Collins with 14 points each and Ken Rogers with 11 points.
02/04 - Firebirds get back into the race
Written by Greg Merritt
With their collective backs against the wall, the Arcadia Firebirds defeated Nandua Tuesday night to move into a tie for the Eastern Shore District boys basketball lead. Nandua could have clinched the district title with a win, but Arcadia closed the game with a flurry of activity to tie the standings with just one more district game to be played by each squad.
Arcadia 52, Nandua 49
Tony Holden sank four pressure-packed free throws in the final 40 seconds of the game to secure Arcadia's 52-49 victory over Nandua Tuesday night. Nandua held a one-point lead, until Holden stepped to the line and converted two free throws with 40 seconds left in the game. Following a Nandua turnover, Holden made two more free throws with 32 seconds left in the game.
Arcadia had opened a six-point lead on a layup by Jahad Triggs with 3:41 left in the game, but Nandua bounced right back and tied the game on back-to-back 3-pointers by Charles Mapp and Brendon Burrows.
A driving layup by Holden with 1:55 left gave the Firebirds a two-point lead. But a free throw and basket by Thomas Brown put the Warriors on top by a point with 1:22 left in the game.
Then, Holden made his free throws down the stretch and Nandua never scored again.
It was a close game most of the way. Mapp put the Warriors out in front with a couple of 3-pointers early in the game, but Arcadia came back with three baskets by Teon Giddens. Nandua claimed a one-point lead on a 3-pointer by Austin Heenan, but a basket in the final minute of the first quarter by Tony Holden put the Firebirds up by one-point at the end of the first quarter.
Arcadia's lead grew to four points early in the second quarter on a 3-pointer by Tyler Warner.
Nandua's Thomas Brown, however, scored nine points in the second quarter, including a basket with seven seconds left in the half to give the Warriors a 25-24 lead at halftime.
Nandua opened the third quarter on a 9-0 run thanks to a 3-pointer by Mapp and three baskets by Brown. The Warriors opened an 11-point lead in the quarter and looked to take control of the game.
The Warriors, however, missed four free throws in the period and Arcadia chipped away at the lead. Triggs had two baskets, including a dunk, while Ronnie Holden had a three-point play. Heading into the final quarter, Nandua still held a two-point advantage.
Arcadia opened the fourth period with a flurry of baskets by Bernard Beckett, Giddens and Ronnie Holden to forge a two-point lead.
"This is a hard place to get a win," said Arcadia head coach Alvin Justis. "We played defense tonight. Any time you can hold that team to under 50 points in a game, you have to play defense."
Triggs led the Firebirds with 18 points. Ronnie Holden had 11 points and Giddens finished with eight points.
Brown led the Warriors with 19 points. Mapp had 16 points, including a game-high four 3-pointers.
Stay tuned in this matchup. A playoff game for the district championship might be in the cards.
02/01 - Foul prone Ponies fall again
Written by Greg Merritt
Chincoteague suffered foul problems Friday night in a 39-34 loss at Salisbury Christian.
The Ponies' three highest scorers fouled out of the game, leaving Chincoteague with no eligible players left on the bench near the end of the fourth quarter.
Connor Derrickson fouled out of the game in the first few seconds of the last period, while Bryant Savage fouled out with six minutes left in the game. Tyler Howard fouled out with 49 seconds left in the game.
It was a close game throughout, despite the foul trouble.
Salisbury Christian held a narrow three-point advantage after the first quarter, but that evaporated quickly in the second quarter as the Ponies opened with some full court pressure the Jaguars could not handle. The pressure caused 12 Salisbury Christian turnovers in the second quarter and Chincoteague shot into the lead on three baskets by Derrickson and one by Bob Fernandez.
But the Ponies lead didn't last long as fouls rained down and the Jaguars made just enough free throws to retake the lead. In the second period the Jaguars shot 11 free throws, while the Ponies shot two. By halftime the Jaguars held a two-point advantage.
The Ponies continued to apply defensive pressure and the Jaguars responded with 11 more turnovers in the third quarter. Howard hit back-to-back baskets to give the Ponies a 25-18 lead midway through the period.
Salisbury Christian's Tyler Conaway converted a three-point play near the end of the quarter to cut Chincoteague's lead to just two points.
Six seconds into the fourth quarter Derrickson fouled out. The Jaguars tied the score on two free throws by Nathan Katzaman, then retook the lead with Katzaman scoring on a layup.
The Ponies stayed close, with Howard hitting a short jumper with 4:43 left to bring the Ponies within two points of the Jags. Then, with 4:23 the Ponies tied the game on a putback basket by Drew Merritt. But Merritt's basket was the final points the Ponies put on the scoreboard as Salisbury Christian scored two free throws by Jacob Brumbley and a two-pointer by Katzaman to clinch the win.
Katzaman led Salisbury Christian with 12 points, followed by Jimmy Fox with nine points.
Derrickson led the Ponies with 11 points, despite playing about half a game, followed by Howard with 10 points and Fernandez with seven points.
