RICHMOND, Va. – In an epic battle at the Class 3 boys ranks, Northside outlasted Hopewell for the 58-52 championship victory.
The Vikings started the game on a hot streak, jumping to an early 16-3 advantage that included multiple three-pointers. Northside’s lead eventually was 17 as Hopewell was left wondering what would work. The Vikings led 36-27 at halftime.
But in the second half, the Blue Devils started the third quarter on a 13-4 run to make a fierce comeback. Early in the fourth quarter, Tyrease Hunter gave Hopewell the 42-40 lead. Their largest lead would be four before Northside locked back in.
Kai Logan, Mykell Harvey, and Lawrence Cole all made big plays down the stretch along with Cy Hardy. Logan’s corner three tied the game at 46-46. Hardy finished the game with 17 points, Harvey had 16 and Cole led the team with 20 points and big shots down the stretch.
“We came out and thought of it as a regular game,” Cole said. “Just one more game to play so we had to come out and play hard and play defense that’s our motto all the time so that’s how we came out with the W.”
“Everything about it felt like a state championship game,” said Northside head coach Bill Pope. “The atmosphere was incredible. Both teams fought incredibly hard and I just give them a lot of credit for how hard they fought because we came out just blazing from the three.”