RICHMOND, Va. – Led by legendary coach Bill Pope, the Northside Vikings defeated Lake Taylor in the VHSL Class 3 state championship. The victory makes the Vikings back-to-back state champions.
The game started off in favor of the Titans who’s size advantage posed problems for the Vikings. Elijah Washington dominated the boards and had a handful of easy rebound shots.
But Northside’s experience kicked in and led the team to a turnaround. Cy Hardy and Mykell Harvey helped carry the Vikings to a 26-25 halftime lead.
In the second half, Northside built a lead as big as 16 thanks to timely shots from Kai Logan, David Via and Nick Crawford.
The Vikings were coasting to victory before the game was paused due to a near-brawl on the court. Following a hard foul in transition, tempers flared from the Titans players and bench with the clock just under one minute remaining in the game.
After order was restored and technical fouls handed out, Northside’s Mykell Harvey shot four free throws and the Vikings captured the Class 3 State Championship with a 73-58 victory.
“We knew we would have a hard problem on the boards but we would do the best we could but we knew we could take away certain things from them,” said Northside head coach Bill Pope. “Offensively, I thought it was a great matchup with their great press and our really exceptional ball handling.”
“We weren’t going to be scared because of the size disadvantage,” said Vikings guard Cy Hardy. He finished with 17 points. “We’ve been playing taller teams the whole season.”
Mykell Harvey echoed similar sentiments in his 27 point performance Friday night.
Northside’s championship victory, another fine example of how confident and poised this program has become under head coach Bill Pope.