What a story it is - one of Virginia's most storied basketball programs, the Petersburg Crimson Wave, are now 10-15 overall and headed to the State Tournament after erasing a 14-point first quarter deficit to stun Phoebus. The Phantoms were denied their fifth State Playoff trip since 2011.

This is Petersburg's first State Tournament appearance since 2012. Can't help, but think of the late great Terry Sisisky, who was the longtime voice of the Crimson Wave and a good friend of mine. He's probably smiling down on this group and what they're doing.

Phoebus Coach James Daniel will use a time-out as his team has possession following a Petersburg turnover - Dejon Freeman coming up with the steal - and the Phantoms lead it 57-56 with 59.3 seconds left to play in regulation.

This game has been a roller-coaster where you never know what to expect next, full of twists and turns. Phantoms junior guard Shakir Dawan Jr. has just fouled out with three points, putting Quishawn Prosise back at the foul line with a chance to tie the score with 2:17 to play in regulation.

We might need overtime to settle the outcome here.

Jovannie Arroyo, a 5-foot-7 senior, has been called upon for Phoebus to make shots and he's hit a few, contributing seven points off the bench. In fact, both second units have done some positive things in this one when you include Dejon Freeman for the Phantoms, while two of Petersburg's top scorers have been reserves in Quishawn Prosise and Milton Coles, each living at the free-throw line.

Quishawn Prosise gives Petersburg only its second lead of the night at 43-42 with 7:17 to play after a couple of free-throws. Phoebus' struggles from behind the arc - 2-of-14 on the night and probably about 0-for-9 from the corner spots - prevented them from growing their lead, which reached 14 in the opening quarter before a 6-0 run by the Wave to end the quarter at 17-9.

Under 6 minutes to go - Petersburg 46, Phoebus 44. Football standout Upton Bailey is making some key plays defensively to trigger some offensive punch for the Crimson Wave. Winner gets Lakeland in Tuesday's Region 3A Championship at Scope.

A couple of made free-throws from Mahir Sharif puts Phoebus back up, 40-39, as we tick under a minute left in this wacky third quarter. Following Petersburg's 28th turnover of the night, Sharif comes down and hits a pull-up jumper.

While the Phantoms have had some moments not trusting each other and sharing the basketball, whenever they've needed a key play, it's either been Sharif or junior guard Jeremiah White generally stepping through.

Fortunately for Phoebus, they have a pretty deep bench to survive some of the foul issues that have come their way to begin this third quarter with six personal fouls before the two minute mark of the period. Nonetheless, the Crimson Wave are converting their free-throws, something a couple of their talent-laden State Playoff teams didn't do or else they'd have a couple more Championships in their trophy case.

For whatever the reason, the Phantoms can't pull away from Petersburg and have failed to get in a comfort zone after grabbing that 14-point lead.

Let's take a look at the not so pretty first half numbers...

Phoebus will head to the break with the lead, but by only one possession in what has been a mistake-plagued half for both squads. The Phantoms shot just 2-of-12 from the field in the second period to let the Crimson Wave hang around.

Petersburg has a glorious basketball tradition, from the days of Moses Malone to in recent years when Cadarian Raines, Chris Evans and Frank Mason of the NBA put them in the State Tournament limelight. They don't have star power of that caliber, but one thing pretty much all Crimson Wave teams do is compete till the final whistle.

Phoebus has to match that intensity, physicality, aggressiveness and toughness to keep this lead from evaporating.

Remarkable to think Petersburg is hanging around in this one. Their 6-foot-7 senior center Anton Blackwell is starting to become a factor in the painted area. Phoebus has relaxed a bit with the lead, something I'm sure Coach James Daniel will let his team know about at half-time.

Neither team has looked smooth at all offensively. It has been a defensive slugfest with Petersburg struggling to hold onto the ball. They have to be careful or this can get away from them in a hurry.

Both teams came into the regional playoffs below the .500 mark, but here they are the Norfolk Scope, hoping to have the time of their lives and get to the State Tournament. Athletically, both have the talent to play with most anyone in the state, but the Phantoms have dealt with a number of injuries this season and it's not the seasoned group of a year ago, led by Khyree Temple and Detionne Leach when they got to the State Finals.

9.4 seconds left - Lakeland 60, Hopewell 58. Keimari Artis hits the first free-throw. Another one is forthcoming for him after a time-out.

Wright misses the second, but Hopewell comes down and misses a shot in the lane, where Lakeland's Ray Bellamy secures the rebound.

It's Lakeland ball, up 59-58 with 13 seconds to go.

Lakeland may not be able to hold for the last shot just yet, but what an enormous corner 3 ball from Hopewell junior guard Cartier Strickland.

The Cavs definitely want Artis, Bellamy or Wright Jr. taking this next shot, whether it's the last one of the game or not.

Up nine earlier in this fourth quarter at 52-43, Lakeland appeared to be in the clear. But Hopewell is pushing them to the limit in this tight battle for a chacne to go to the VHSL Class 3 State Tournament.

The Cavaliers seem to have more scoring weapons, but they have to execute these last two minutes, convert at the foul line and not have any defensive breakdowns to come out on top.

A couple of free-throws from Devonte Saunders push the Lakeland lead to 56-51. This is where Elvin Edmonds IV has to get going not only as a shooter, but playmaker for the Blue Devils. He's only got four field goals, two in this second half, and none from behind the arc since intermission.

Senior 6-foot-4 power forward Dennard Hutchinson sinks a pair of free-throws to trim the Lakeland lead to 3 as Hopewell is looking to rally in the final few minutes.

Quite a shooting exhibition from these Cavaliers, and it's not a matter of Hopewell doing anything drastically wrong defensively. Lakeland is swinging the ball around and getting quality looks from deep.

A Kaleb Coleman trey for Hopewell as well as a reverse lay-up from Elvin Edmonds IV pulls the Blue Devils within four.

Who's going to be that second guy to help Elvin Edmonds IV of Hopewell shoulder the scoring load? Or more importantly, do the Blue Devils have the goods defensively to contain these Lakeland shooters? They better or else it'll be the Cavaliers moving on to the State Tournament and Tuesday night's Region 3A Championship against the winner of the Phoebus/Petersburg game that'll take place later on tonight.

This place is rocking as Lakeland is feeling it offensively after a sub-par first half.

Hopewell right now has to get out on the shooters, in particular, Clint Wright Jr. Even though he doesn't have a ton of points, Raymond Bellamy supplied Lakeland with lots of energy via his six blocks and defensive rebounds, plus a crowd-pleasing dunk.

Lakeland has come alive in this second half. Their attention to detail has been better and they have that sense of urgency about them, realizing this is win or go home mode. The Suffolk faithful have traveled well and Clint Wright Jr. is known as a shooter, so it was a matter of time before he snapped out of the funk.

Even though they are in an offensive rut, you get the feeling Lakeland is on the verge of a momentum-changing run either before half-time or coming out of the break. Keimari Artis is saddled on the bench in foul trouble, while Clint Wright Jr. and Ray Bellamy have yet to make a basket.

Senior reserve guard Devonte Saunders has hit a couple of three-pointers for the Cavaliers, but they have been sluggish when it comes to inside the arc.

Hopewell gets nice ball movement to find Randall 'R.J.' Richardson for a three-pointer in the corner. The Blue Devils are about to go up double-digits.

Coach Clint Wright Sr. of Lakeland knows his team can hit that hot spurt at any moment, but none of their perimeter three standouts that earned First or Second Team All-Southeastern District honors - Clint Wright Jr., Raymond Bellamy or Keimari Artis - have made the scoring column through a quarter of play.

As for Hopewell Head Coach Elvin Edmonds, he has to love his team's start defensively, but they too need to get it going on offense. The one plus they have in building a 14-7 lead on the Cavs is they are spreading the wealth with five different scorers.

Lakeland has been ice cold out of the gate offensively, starting 1-of-10 until a three-pointer in the final minute from Devonte Saunders. Prior to that, the only make was a basket on a nifty move in the post from Tyshawn Allen.

Hopewell hasn't exactly lit it up either offensively as they are 1-of-9 from behind the arc. You can tell neither team has played in this Scope Arena before.

First State Playoff trip in school history for Lakeland girls basketball, making plenty of noise under third-year Head Coach Daryl Rountree. The amazing thing is every player on the roster is either a sophomore or freshman, so the future is mighty bright.

We have a boys semifinal coming your way shortly with Hopewell and Lakeland, which looks to take over the Scope on Tuesday night...

A frightening thought for Class 3 girls basketball teams is that all 11 players listed on the Lakeland roster are either freshmen or sophomores. If that is indeed true, then they will be contending for a Championship for 2021 and 2022 in addition to this March.

Much like we saw with Booker T. Washington playing in the Eastern District, the fact that Lakeland plays schools that are at the Class 6 and Class 5 level regularly contending out of the Southeastern District - such as Western Branch and Deep Creek for example, along with King's Fork from Class 4 - they get to this tourney and in many ways it's a step down in the normal competition they encounter.

Just when Park View had trimmed the deficit down to 15, the Lady Cavs of Lakeland push the advantage back up to 22 points as their relentless pressure on defense along with a couple of more 3's - now 9 makes for the contest compared to only a couple for the opposition from South Hill - has pretty much put this one out of reach.

A dominating first half performance from Lakeland, which looks to be headed for a matchup in the Region 3A Championship with Booker T. Washington - two girls basketball programs on the rise with some talented sophomores and freshmen.

Pretty much every statistical category is in favor of Lakeland. They have overwhelmed Park View in this one. They continue to scorch the nets with six three-pointers, three of them from sophomore guard Jamauri Demiel.

To be perfectly honest, Park View's only hope in this one is to slow the game down and get to the free-throw line. But the Lady Dragons have only two offensive rebounds, and that makes it hard to close the gap as well.

Lakeland has gotten off to a hot start and Head Coach Daryl Rountree has to love this, given the fact that most of these girls are underclassmen who haven't been on a big stage like this before. The bright lights and large court hasn't fazed them one bit.

Once Zaria Green-Pope entered the game, she did a great job of flashing to the high post and hitting that elbow jumper. Early on though, Jamauri Demiel and Ke'monye Canady set the tone knocking down outside shots in their motion style half-court offense.

Right now, Park View is a step slower and can't get the stops they need defensively.

An unbelievable ending to a very competitive, physical and hard-fought game. Booker T. Washington is headed to the State Tournament for the first time in school history in Girls Basketball.

Major credit to Vincent Bryant, his staff and players for a job well done. A heart-breaking ending for Hopewell, but they will be wishing they had not dug a double-digit hole, otherwise they would've likely been the one moving on to the State Tournament.

Madison Tolbert of Hopewell connected on just the team's second three-point make of the game at the 4:11 mark to cut the Booker T. Washington lead to four points. For some reason, either BTW is rushing to get it up the court and it leads to a mistake or they try to stall in the half-court instead of attacking the hoop.

We're seeing more poise under pressure from Hopewell. It's a very tense finish here and we'll see if the Lady Bookers have learned from their three losses by four points or less earlier this season to First Colonial, Great Bridge and Wilson.

Hopewell put the full-court pressure and forced three successive turnovers by Booker T. Washington, cashing in with quick lay-ups. Booker T. Washington has some small, yet quick guards with Kamora Hurst and Ty'Aja Benn to complement leading scorer Saniyah Glasgow. The Lady Blue Devils are trying to exert their size advantage inside.

As long as Booker T. Washington's ladies take care of the basketball, don't commit silly fouls that stop the clock and protect the backboards, they'll come out of here with a seeded upset along with a State Tournament berth. But those things could be easier said than done with a Hopewell team that does have playoff pedigree and knows how to rally.

Just when Hopewell appeared to claw right back where they wanted to be, only down four at 28-24, Booker T. Washington answered with freshman Saniya Glasgow's old-fashioned three-point play. Glasgow has 17 points. She's been absolutely superb in the open court.

Hopewell uses a time-out as the deficit swells to 12 points.

This is now the time where Hopewell absolutely must step up and rise to the occasion here. It's going to require some type of change defensively or on offense, perhaps subbing in a couple of fresh players, to jump-start them because Booker T. Washington is on the verge of a double-figure lead.

Booker T. Washington also cannot relax with a lead either.

A reminder that the winner of this Booker T. Washington/Hopewell Region 3A Girls Semifinal will move on to the State Tournament. They'll also come back to the Norfolk Scope on Tuesday for the region title game.

Two thoughts for Hopewell. Number one, this team doesn't feel quite as potent inside and outside as that squad of a couple years ago, where they could throw it into Messiah Hunter and she was a major presence. That team also seemed to shoot it better from the outside.

On the flip side for Head Coach Jackie Edmonds, she can't feel too bad considering they have turned the ball over left and right to this point without a three-point make, yet only trail by four.

The tempo is just right for the Lady Bookers, who are showing no fear today as a No. 5 seed. Part of it has to do with playing a very battle-tested Eastern District, where Lake Taylor has won four state titles in the past decade, Norview is advancing to the State Playoffs for the second time in three years, and then you have a program like Wilson that is always dangerous.

Hopewell has actually turned the basketball over seven straight possessions. At this stage of the playoffs, it's hard to survive with wasted possessions.

Hopewell shifted to a 3-2 zone late in the opening quarter and they've been able to speed Booker T. Washington up and create some turnovers to an extent, but offensively they are still struggling to find their groove. We're waiting for the Lady Blue Devils to connect on their first three-pointer of the day.

This Saniyah Glasgow has really impressed. Back in December, she filled the stat sheet with 11 points, 13 rebounds and six steals in a key win over Wilson.

A bit surprised early here that Booker T. Washington Girls, under the direction of Vincent Bryant, have come out with the more effective transition game against a Hopewell team that is the No. 1 seed and has played recently in the State Championship game at the Class 3 level. In fact, Hopewell made it there to the State Final in 2018, falling to Lord Botetourt by a count of 53-45.

Booker T. Washington has an early 8-3 lead with 4:08 to go in the opening quarter. Hopewell has started just 1-of-7 from the field and they'll need to get Alexis Edmonds, one of their top scorers, going soon.