Salem Coach Lloyd DeLoatch after 50-49 win over Hampton in Region 5A Championship at the Norfolk Scope on Monday, February 26, 2018. The Sun Devils, now 13-12 overall, captured their first regional title in 17 years. They avenged a 33-point loss to Hampton from December and will next take on Highland Springs in the State Tournament quarterfinals.

Salem's Jonathan Norfleet & Ray Ward after 50-49 win over Hampton in Region 5A Championship at the Norfolk Scope on Monday, February 26, 2018. Norfleet had 15 points - including the game-winning 3-pointer - and 9 rebounds along with 4 assists. Ward chipped in 14 points - with 12 coming on 3's - and 6 assists. It's the first region title since 2001 for the Sun Devils.

Final Stats for Salem-VB:
Jonathan Norfleet 15Pts. 4-16FG, 2-5 3's, GW 3, 5-6FT, 9Reb. 4Ast.
Ray Ward 14Pts. 5-14FG, 4-6 3's, 6Ast. 3Reb.
Terrence Joseph 5Pts. 2-2FG, 8Reb.

Sun Devils - 17-45FG, 9-16 3's (2-2 3's in 4thQ), 7-11FT (4-4FT in 4thQ), 30Reb. 16Ast. 10TO's, 4Stl.

Final Stats for Hampton:
Quishon Harris 13Pts. 4-8FG, 8Ast. 3Reb. 3Stl.
Khairiq Grogins 8Pts. 4-7FG, 4Reb. 4Ast.
Avin Hawkins 8Pts. 2-6 3's.
Jacquez Yow 6Pts. 3Reb.
Zaiyen Chapman 5Pts. 5Reb.
Crabbers - 17-42FG, 6-16 3's, 9-11FT, 23Reb. (4Off.), 13Ast. 6TO's, 6Blk. 6Stl.

Hampton's Khairiq Grogins missed the front-end of a 1 & 1 with 25 seconds left.

Then Norfleet has the moment of a lifetime.

Unbelievable finish.

45.7 seconds left - Hampton 49, Salem-VB 45. Amir Devone with two crucial free-throws for the Crabbers. His first two points of the night.

Eric Brown calls a time-out and wants to make sure they get a quality possession and don't give it back to Salem with a chance to tie or take the lead.

Amazing to think that Salem lost to this Hampton team by 33 points in December at the Greyhound Tip-Off Classic. That day, Hampton's 87 points were a season-high. But the Crabbers have held seven straight foes coming into tonight to under 50 points, including limiting Kecoughtan to a season-low in the regional quarterfinals and Green Run to a season-low in the regional semifinals.

Even though Hampton has a four-point advantage, the Crabbers went to the spread, delay game too early in my opinion. If they don't score and Salem gets a basket or an and-one, then it's a one-possession game and Hampton can be forced to have to hit free-throws and get jittery.

As soon as Hampton went back to the 1-3-1 zone, Salem knocked down their eighth three-pointer of the night. Going man-to-man the rest of the way with some pressure mixed in might not be a bad route for the Crabbers, given that Jonathan Norfleet has played the entire game with no rest and he could get tired down the stretch for Salem.

Salem Head Coach Lloyd DeLoatch gets a time-out as the 2-2-1 half-court trap used by Hampton is giving the Sun Devils some trouble to begin the 4th quarter.

One of Hampton's three players named to 2nd Team All-Region - senior 6'6" forward Jacquez Yow - has been held scoreless with only three rebounds the whole night.

Like the way that Jonathan Norfleet has let the game come to him and not forced the issue against a Hampton team that can bother an opponent's top scorer.

Salem Head Coach Lloyd DeLoatch has to be thrilled as we begin the 2nd half that he gets back his post presence, Terrence Joseph (football standout), who was saddled on the bench early with two fouls. Right away, he makes his presence felt with a defensive rebound. The Sun Devils have a chance to push up their lead from four points.

Hampton, meanwhile, has gotten out of the zone with the scorching hot shooting of Salem from the perimeter. Eric Brown's Crabbers are utilizing man-to-man to begin the 3r quarter.

It's Joseph scoring on the feed from Ray Ward, his 4th assist, to push Salem's lead up to 32-26.

For Salem at the break - Ray Ward 11Pts. 3-4 3's, 3Ast.
Jonathan Norfleet 6Pts. 2-7FG, 7Reb. 4Ast.
Sun Devils - 11-25FG, 6-9 3's, 2-5FT, 17-12 edge on the backboards, 5 turnovers.

For Hampton at the break - Quishon Harris 8Pts. 3-3FG, 5Ast.
Avin Hawkins 6Pts. 2-4 3's.
Khairiq Grogins 4Pts. 2-4FG, 2Reb. 2Ast.
Crabbers - 9-24FG, 5-10 3's, 3-4FT, 3 turnovers.

2:44 left 2ndQ - Salem-VB 25, Hampton 22. Avin Hawkins with a 3, then Quishon Harris coast-to-coast for the finish. Time-out Salem.

3:50 to go 2ndQ - Salem-VB 25, Hampton 17. Great drive and kick by Ray Ward to Mike Montiel for 3. Sun Devils with 6 treys so far.

Maybe it's time for Hampton to think about making some changes defensively.

Hampton is shooting it better than 50% from long distance so far with Jalen Jenerette and Avin Hawkins getting clean looks behind the arc. Can Salem keep up at this hot pace? So far, so good, as their two guards Ray Ward and Jonathan Norfleet are controlling the action and taking care of the basketball, something that Head Coach Lloyd DeLoatch has stressed since the the Norfolk Scope Holiday when they were playing Ocean Lakes in the 7th place consolation game.

Hampton is 3-7 3's, 1-7 on 2's, 2-2FT through the first quarter.

Salem is 3-5 on 3's, 1-5 on 2's, 1-2FT.

Rebounding edge is 8-7 for Salem.

Salem 3 turnovers compared to 1 turnover for Hampton.

The 1-1-3 zone by Hampton has been somewhat effective, but Salem is not intimidated at all. They are playing with supreme confidence off those upset victories over top-seeded Maury and Norview in the semifinals.

The Crabbers have yet to get Jacquez Yow going and he's going to be key inside for them around the rim.

Salem's Terrence Joseph (signed with Virginia State for football) called for his 2nd foul with 5:54 to go 2ndQ.

Administrative Technical Foul called on Salem for a not having a number on the court in the official book.

Hampton won 87-54 in the regular season meeting between these two teams back on December 16th in the Greyhound Tip-Off Classic at Norcom.

Both teams are going to the State Tournament with the winner here set to host Region 5B runner-up Highland Springs Champ Varina, while the loser will take on Region 5B Champ Varina at Glen Allen High in the State Tournament quarterfinals.