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Norcom Handles GW 64-53

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style='font-size:9.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif"'>VHSL
Group 4A State Tournament Semifinals:
Final - - #1
class=SpellE>Norcom 64, #2 GW-Danville 53
"Verdana","sans-serif"'>For the third time in five years, the
class=SpellE>Norcom Greyhounds will be playing for a State
Championship. On Saturday afternoon in
Norfolk at Old Dominion University's Ted Constant Convocation Center, the
Greyhounds broke open a close game at the half to win fairly comfortably, 64-53
over the GW-Danville Eagles in the Group 4A State Tournament Semifinals.
"Verdana","sans-serif"'>"It's a dream come true and I'm glad we're going," said
Norcom senior Troy
Locke, the 4A-South Region and Conference 17 Player of the Year.
style=> "Since I've been here at Norcom,
I've wanted to get there and now I'm going with my brothers."
"Verdana","sans-serif"'>GW-Danville came out of the gate with a 4-0 lead on
class=SpellE>Norcom. Coach
style='mso-bidi-font-weight:normal'>Leon Goolsby then decided to insert
sophomore point guard Travis Fields,
normally a starter, into the lineup.
Fields had missed the previous 10 games with a hand injury.
style=> His energy led to a 12-2 spurt that allowed
class=SpellE>Norcom to take control towards the end of the first
quarter.
"Verdana","sans-serif"'>"We settled down when Travis Fields came in off the
bench. He was real anxious to play and he
was a big sparkplug off the bench," Goolsby said.
style=> "GW made a great run in the second quarter,
cut the lead to one, and then we came out the second half re-focused and picked
up the defensive pressure. It was a
battle, but our guys played just a little bit better."
"Verdana","sans-serif"'>In the third quarter, GW-Danville went ahead 33-32 on a
tough up-and-under lay-up by 5-foot-10 junior
style='mso-bidi-font-weight:normal'>Tamario
normal'> Rodgers. However,
class=SpellE>Norcom would close the period on a 15-6 run, which was spearheaded
once again by Fields as well as Locke and senior wing
normal'>Antonio Parker.
class=SpellE>Norcom's transition game started to gain momentum in the
second half, and the Eagles couldn't answer.
"Verdana","sans-serif"'>Locke had 19 to lead the way, while Parker added
18. Four players scored in
double-figures for the Greyhounds as Fields joined them with 11 and freshman
style='mso-bidi-font-weight:normal'>Travis Ingram chipped in 10.
style=> GW-Danville, which saw its season end at 24-5
overall, trailed by double-figures most of the fourth quarter.
style=> They were led by Rodgers' 14, followed by
class=SpellE>JaMarcus
style='mso-bidi-font-weight:normal'> Hairston's double-double of 11 points
and 10 boards.
"Verdana","sans-serif"'>Returning to the Championship game means plenty to the
Portsmouth program that saw its top two scorers from a season ago graduate and
move on to Division I College Basketball programs.
"Verdana","sans-serif"'>"It means a lot.
I'm all about Championships. I'm
not in it for me; I'm in for the guys," remarked Goolsby.
style=>
"Verdana","sans-serif"'>"A former player, P.J. Ratcliffe,
came back to watch us practice and he said the difference between the last two teams
we had and this year's team is they listen more, but we defend better.
style=> They were good teams with Malique
Trent and James Whitaker, and even Malique said
it. I'm a defensive guy and love
stopping people. That takes the pressure
off our offense."
"Verdana","sans-serif"'>With the win, the Greyhounds moved to 22-5 overall and
have now won 10 in a row. On Thursday
night at VCU in the 4A State Championship, Norcom
will take on Handley (21-2), a 64-51 winner over Glen Allen in the other
semifinal.
"Verdana","sans-serif"'>What will it take for the Greyhounds to prevail?
"Verdana","sans-serif"'>"We're going to have to play hard, play with a lot of
heart and confidence, and play together," said Parker.
style='font-size:9.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif"'>
Player of the Game:
style=> Norcom PG Travis
Fields - -
"Verdana","sans-serif"'>The return of Fields couldn't have come at a better
time, and his impact was felt at both ends of the court, particularly on
defense.
"Verdana","sans-serif"'>Fields finished up with 11 points - - more than the
entire GW-Danville bench (which had 9 points) - - and added seven assists with
only turnover and a career-high seven steals.
"Verdana","sans-serif"'>"It hurt really bad not being able to play, but I had
to be a cheerleader for my teammates while I was out.
style=> I really just wanted to bring us a spark and
hustle for my team," Fields said.
"Verdana","sans-serif"'>By getting Fields back, it solidifies an already
talented Norcom backcourt that features the likes of
double-digit scorers in Locke and Parker.
"Verdana","sans-serif"'>"He's what we've been missing," Goolsby noted.
style=> "He takes the pressure off of Troy and Tony
to distribute it. Antonio doesn't have
to play as much of the point anymore."
"Verdana","sans-serif"'>
mso-highlight:yellow'>Keys to Victory:
style='font-size:9.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif"'>#1
- - Efficient Perimeter Play:
style='font-size:9.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif"'>Although
the Greyhounds didn't shoot an extremely high percentage from three-pint land,
going 2-for-13 as a team, their perimeter parts were efficient with a low
number of turnovers. Neither Locke nor
Parker turned it over, combining for 37 points and eight assists as they played
27 and 25 minutes, respectively.
"Verdana","sans-serif"'>"I thought that was the key to the game.
style=> We only had seven turnovers for the game,
forced them into a couple mistakes, capitalized on it and I thought that we
really could beat them down the floor in transition," stated Goolsby, now
167-48 in his eighth year at the helm at Norcom.
style=>
"Verdana","sans-serif"'>"We didn't turn the ball over late in the fourth
quarter like we normally do. We took
care of the ball, made our free-throws down the stretch, but we knew if we made
them come out and defend us, we thought we would have an advantage with our
guard play."
style='font-size:9.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif"'>
#2 - - Turn GW Over:
style='font-size:9.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif"'>When
GW-Danville has been most successful, they've been able to score in the 60's
and even sometimes hit for 70 points.
class=SpellE>Norcom's defense didn't allow them to do that, disrupting
their guard play and keeping them from scoring a lot of points in the painted
area.
"Verdana","sans-serif"'>"They're able to cause so much havoc you can't run your
offense against them," commented GW-Danville Head Basketball Coach
style='mso-bidi-font-weight:normal'>Ron Parson.
style=> "They get you out of sync.
style=> We weren't totally focused on how to handle
their press. We worked on it, but it's
tough when you have our second team against their first team."
"Verdana","sans-serif"'>On the night, GW-Danville turned it over 16 times with
14 of those turnovers coming before the fourth quarter, putting them in an
eight-point hole.
style='font-size:9.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif"'>
#3 - - Second Chance Points:
style='font-size:9.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif"'>Another
critical component to Norcom's success is getting
second and third opportunities through hitting the backboards with a purpose.
style=> The Greyhounds came up with 16 offensive
rebounds and were +5 in the rebounding category for the game.
"Verdana","sans-serif"'>"They were just more aggressive and beat us on the boards.
style=> We didn't rebound very well, and that sort of
swung the momentum a little bit," admitted Parson.
style=> "We also missed a couple shots that were
easy, and when you do that against good teams, it catches up with you."
"Verdana","sans-serif"'>Four players notched six rebounds or more for
class=SpellE>Norcom.
style='mso-bidi-font-weight:normal'>Terrell Camp gave them a lift with a
team-high eight boards in 21 minutes of action off the pine.
"Verdana","sans-serif"'>
href="http://vmedia.rivals.com/uploads/914/1524856.WMA">
none;text-underline:none'>Postgame Audio with Norcom
Coach Leon Goolsby
style='font-size:9.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif"'>
Final Stats: ***
style='font-size:9.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif"'>Courtesy
of STATVA (
href="http://www.statva.com">www.statva.com)
normal'>***
style='font-size:9.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif"'>Norcom
style='mso-bidi-font-weight:normal'>
115%;font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif"'> Greyhounds 64:
style='mso-bidi-font-weight:normal'>
115%;font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif"'>
(22-5)
Troy Locke - - 19Pts. 5-13FG, 8-12FT, 6Reb. 3Ast. 2Stl.
Antonio Parker - - 18Pts. 7-13FG, 4-7FT, 6Reb. 5Ast.
Travis Fields - - 11Pts. 4-13FG, 4Reb. 7Ast. 7Stl.
Travis Ingram - - 10Pts. 4-8FG, 2-8FT, 6Reb.
style='font-size:9.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif"'>GW-Danville
Eagles 53:
style='font-size:9.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif"'>
style=> (24-5)
Tamario Rodgers - - 14Pts. 5-11FG, 2-5 3's, 2-3FT,
3Reb. 2Ast.
JaMarcus Hairston - - 11Pts. 4-13FG, 2-2FT, 10Reb.
4Ast. 2Blk.
Kowante Cobbs - - 10Pts.
5-9FG, 3Reb. 4Ast.
Khajuan Watkins - - 7Pts. 2-6Fg, 3-5FT, 6Reb. 2Ast.
style='font-size:9.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif"'> 
style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>
115%;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";text-decoration:none;text-underline:
none'>Matthew Hatfield
style='font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'>
serves as State Basketball Analyst for
href="http://www.virginiapreps.com">
style='font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";
text-decoration:none;text-underline:none'>VirginiaPreps.com
style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>
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Network. Check out
href="http://www.twitter.com/hatfieldsports">
normal'>
text-decoration:none;text-underline:none'>Hatfield's Twitter page
style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>
115%;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'> for more sports related updates,
and you can also read his work in the
href="http://www.suffolknewsherald.com">
style='font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";
text-decoration:none;text-underline:none'>Suffolk News Herald
style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>
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href="mailto:hatfieldsports2k4@yahoo.com">
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