The Green Run Stallions lived to play another day. In front of a packed home crowd on Dahlia Drive in Virginia Beach, the top-seeded Stallions rallied against the upset-minded, eighth-seeded Cavaliers from Princess Anne and prevailed by a count of 61-58 to earn a spot at the Norfolk Scope for Saturday's Region 5A Tournament semifinals.

For Head Coach Kenneth Harris, it'll be the first ever matchup in his 12-year coaching career against good friend and former Green Run Head Coach, Ed Young, of Nansemond River.

Young inherited a Green Run team that went 0-22 in 2001-02, and by his second season, led the Stallions to a 18-7 finish and trip to the Eastern Region Tournament quarterfinals, where they ended up falling to eventual State Champ Woodside.

With their comeback win over Princess Anne - the 20th straight victory in the series - Green Run - is now 20-3 overall. It's the fourth 20-win season or better over the past six years under Harris, the man with more victories in the program's history (187) than anyone else.

A win over Nansemond River on Saturday at Scope would secure Green Run's first State Tournament berth since 1984 when they won the Eastern Region title under Bill Cochrane.

Green Run relied on its guards - senior 1000-point scorer Ashley James as well as sophomores Jacob Cooper and Elijah Kennedy - to help them overcome Princess Anne's inside strength with junior two-sport standout Azaiyah Roberts. Recording a double-double of 22 points and 11 rebounds, Roberts enabled PA go up by six points on three separate occasions in the fourth period.

Yet, in a game that featured 13 lead changes and seven ties, Green Run responded when the chips were down in the second half. James, who picked up two fouls in the game's first two minutes, scored 11 of his 19 points in the third period. Kennedy and Cooper each had 10 points, both scoring eight apiece in the fourth quarter. It would be Cooper's tie-breaking three-pointer from the left wing with 35 seconds to play that sent the home crowd into a state of delirium.

The Stallions also turned to their second unit to wear down the Cavaliers as the game went through swings of emotion. Green Run's bench outscored Princess Anne's 18-0.

Princess Anne finished 12-11 overall under third-year Head Coach Corey Coffer, a former junior varsity coach under Harris at Green Run. It was the seventh loss by six points or fewer for the Cavaliers, who last beat the Stallions on February 12, 2010 in the regular season finale by a count of 53-43.

Green Run sophomore guard Jacob Cooper and junior forward Karree Smith chat after their team's thrilling 61-58 comeback win over eighth-seeded Princess Anne on Tuesday, February 19, 2019 in the Region 5A Tournament quarterfinals.

Cooper bunched 8 of his 10 points - including the eventual game-winning three-pointer with 35 seconds to play - in the fourth quarter.

Smith had 9 points and 6 rebounds as the Stallions closed on a 15-6 run in the final 4:25 to erase a six-point deficit. Green Run (20-3) advances to the regional semifinals on Saturday, February 23, 2019 at the Norfolk Scope where they will take on Nansemond River at 5 PM.

Green Run Head Basketball Coach Kenneth Harris chats following his team's 61-58 comeback win over Princess Anne in the Region 5A Tournament quarterfinals on Tuesday, February 19, 2019. His Stallions notched their 20th straight win over Princess Anne in the head-to-head series as they improved to 20-3 overall on the season.

Coach Harris - who secured his 4th 20+ win season at Green Run in the past six years - is now 187-80 overall in 12 years at the helm of the Stallions.

Green Run next plays Nansemond River in the regional semifinals on Saturday, February 23, 2019 at the Norfolk Scope at 5 PM. The Stallions are seeking their first State Tournament berth since 1984.

Matthew Hatfield serves as Publisher for VirginiaPreps.com, part of the Rivals.com Network, and is a regular contributor to the ACC Sports Journal. Check out Hatfield’s Twitter page for more sports related updates, and you can also read his work in the Suffolk News Herald. To contact Matthew, please e-mail hatfieldsports2k4@yahoo.com, and don’t forget to listen to him weeknights from 6-7 PM on The 757 at 6 as well as every Saturday at 10 AM to Noon on ESPN Radio 94.1.