Lake Taylor’s late collapse leads to Hopewell’s victory
Titans coach shifts to state quarterfinals
NORFOLK — There were many long faces on the Lake Taylor bench as players thought about what could have been.
Leading by 10 with just 5:22 remaining, the Titans thought they were going to be Class 3 Region A champions.
But maybe they celebrated too early because Hopewell closed out the game on a 14-3 run to beat Lake Taylor 34-33 at Scope on Tuesday night.
“We made a couple of mistakes, but that’s basketball,” said Lake Taylor coach Derek “Yogi” Edwards.
The good news is the Titans’ season isn’t over. They will play Skyline, of Front Royal, later this week in the state quarterfinals. The Hawks, who beat William Monroe 67-50 on Friday, are 25-0.
“It’s a lot of teams that aren’t playing, but we have a tomorrow,” Edwards said. “So we’ll be ready for tomorrow.”
Both teams struggled in the first half. Hopewell made just 4 of 18 shots and committed 10 turnovers. Lake Taylor was 6 of 27, but led 14-10.
The Titans (17-7) outscored the Blue Devils 11-8 in the third quarter to take a 25-18 lead into the fourth.
Leading the way was guard Shahide Battle, who scored all of his eight points in the third quarter. He also finished with nine rebounds.
The lead stretched to 10 with 5:22 left as the Titans had all of the momentum.
But Hopewell (22-3) kept battling. Guard Cameron Wise scored 11 of his game-high 13 points in the fourth quarter, including his acrobatic game-winning shot with 7.1 seconds remaining.
The Titans had one more chance to try to win, but turned the ball over.
Rodney Baines finished with seven points and six assists and Elijah Washington had seven points, seven rebounds, two steals and two blocks. Aaron Elliott chipped in with seven points.
“This is the first time this group is going to states. And it will be the first time as a head coach,” Edwards said. “But no more losses. The next loss means it’s over for us. We got to prepare like that. We’ll be better for it.”