Norcom basketball wins Districts, prepares for Regionals in Virginia

Norcom (Portsmouth, Va.), which moved up to No. 5 in the MaxPreps Xcellent 25 boys basketball rankings sponsored by the Army National Guard, needed overtime to defeat rival Washington (Norfolk, Va.), 71-66, and claim the Eastern District title Friday night.

Virginia Tech-bound Dorian Finney-Smith finished with a game-high 20 points and grabbed 18 rebounds and had eight blocks as Norcom (23-1) avenged its only loss of the season.

Both teams had long scoring runs in the second quarter, but it was Booker T. Washington that held a slim 28-27 lead at the half. The second half was a seesaw battle, with Norcom missing two opportunities to win the game at the end.

In the overtime, the Bookers managed just one field goal and were held scoreless in the final 1:26 as Norcom pulled away for the win. "The region tournament will be tough as every team will set their sights on winning it," Norcom coach Leon Goolsby said. "I feel if we play the same way we did all year, by playing team basketball offensively and playing solid defense, then we should have good chance for a regional championship."

Jeremy Canty scored 16 points for Norcom, while Booker T. Washington was led by Quinton Upshur's 19 points.

Both teams advance to Monday's Eastern Regional tournament. Norcom hosts Salem at 8 p.m., while Booker T. Washington (20-4) takes on Tallwood (at Norcom) at 6.

MaxPreps Virginia boys basketball playoff brackets

SPALDING GIRLS CAPTURE IAAM
Archbishop Spalding (Severn, Md.) senior Maggie Morrison scored the last five points of the game to help her team win the Interscholastic Athletic Association of Maryland A Conference championship.

Morrison put Spalding ahead with a layup with 40 seconds remaining and then hit three of four free throws to seal a 53-48 win over Seton Keough (Baltimore). It was the first A Conference title since 2002 for Spalding, which is ranked No. 18 in the MaxPreps Xcellent 25 girls basketball rankings sponsored by the Army National Guard.

The Cavaliers led by 14 points at the end of the third quarter, but the Gators rallied to tie the game at 48 with 40 seconds remaining in the game. That's when Morrison, who will play at Vanderbilt next year, took over.

"It's hard to explain the feeling. My heart's pounding more now than it was in the game," Morrison told The Baltimore Sun. "We've been working for this for four years. It's been nine years since we won the last one, and this is a huge accomplishment for us, especially the seniors."

In addition to Morrison's 19 points, seniors Brya Freeland (10 points) and Shaquilla Curtis (eight points, 12 rebounds) helped pace Spalding.

Rianna Frazer led the Gators with 15 points while Achiri Ade had 10 points and six rebounds and Liz Brown had nine points and 13 rebounds.

Spalding (27-2) advanced into the final with a 73-46 rout of St. Vincent Pallotti, while Keough (19-8) stunned McDonogh, 54-33.

ST. ELIZABETH BOYS ESCAPE
Tatnall junior Sterlin Johnson stood alone on the foul line with zeros on the clock and his team down by two points. He took two dribbles and launched his first of two free throws and hit nothing but net. Then the left-handed forward quickly snatched the bounce pass from the referee, took two more dribbles and let his second fly … and the St. Elizabeth players erupted as it clanged off the front of the rim and fell harmlessly to the floor.

Trailing by nine at the end of the third quarter, St. Elizabeth (Wilmington, Del.) (15-3) rallied to defeat rival Tatnall 57-56 in overtime Friday night at the Sister Mary Ellen Arena in Wilmington.

"Despite getting the lead cut to one in the third quarter and then having Tatnall extend it to nine at the end of the quarter, Timmy Massado was in the huddle to start the fourth encouraging the team saying, 'We are not going to lose this game. We are going to win,'" St. Elizabeth coach Dick Rago said after the game.

Massado scored 22 of his game-high 28 points in the fourth quarter and overtime to lead the comeback. When he wasn't draining 3-pointers, slicing into the lane for hard-earned layups, or knocking down free throws (10 of 15), the talented junior was dishing off to sophomore Andre Patton (16 points), who dominated inside the paint.

"Timmy was fighting himself for the first three quarters," Rago said of his star guard's slow start. "He has been making that transition from a pure scoring guard to a point guard that scores. He can take over a game so quickly and the great thing about our team is that they recognize this too. That's why they never quit.

"Coach Anthony Wright said it best after the game when he told me that in preparation for the game he had told his coaches that either Timmy Massado or Andre Patton, no matter how they were playing, could take over a game at any time and change its outcome."

Tatnall (7-11), playing without leading scorer Mark Meadley due to injury, led for most of the game, but when senior forward Chris Voltz fouled out with 5:51 remaining in the game and his team up by four, Massado and Patton took over.

Freshman point guard Joe Cooper led Tatnall with 18 points, while Johnson finished with 13, including hitting the first five of his six free-throw attempts.

RECRUITING NEWS
Lake Forest High's Quadir Bryant, Delaware's Offensive Player of the Year, signed a letter of intent to play football at Delaware State University.

THE BUZZ
"I said you suck."

Those were the words from the mouth of a junior varsity basketball coach toward a referee late in a blowout game. And not the first time, but instead, to make it worse, it was repeated when the referee came over and calmly inquired, "What did you say?"

It was an embarrassment to everyone around him and something I hope he gets reprimanded for beyond the meaningless technical he was immediately hit with as his team trailed by double digits. I can't help but think if a player said the same thing to an official, he or she would have been immediately tossed and then forced to sit out the next game as per the rules following an ejection. Why this coach was not double-teed is beyond me.

That kind of behavior shouldn't be tolerated from any coach at the high school level. It sends the wrong message to a bench full of impressionable teenagers.

The coach's team had already been embarrassed on the court. And then it was embarrassed off it. Thanks to their coach.

It was irresponsible. It was unnecessary. And should not be tolerated.

Jon Buzby is the sports columnist for the Newark Post, a freelance writer, and on the broadcast team for the 1290AM The Ticket High School Football and Basketball Games of the Week. You can reach him at jonbuzby@hotmail.com.