joburr4

BY BUCKY DENT BRISTOL HERALD COURIER BLUEFIELD – Martinsville had too much Snoop and Virginia High just couldn’t score enough hoops. With Bulldogs point guard Victor "Snoop" Hairston stuffing the stat sheet and the Bearcats shooting as though they were playing in the 30-mile per hour wind gusts outside Graham Middle School, VHS saw its season end Thursday night with a 56-51 Region IV semifinal loss. Hairston had 11 points, six assists and four steals for the defending Group AA champions, which improved to 19-8 and advanced to a Saturday night regional final against fellow Piedmont District member Magna Vista. "We worked hard and played well together," Hairston said. "Coach said we had to execute in order to get the win." Meanwhile, the Bearcats (17-7) made a long bus ride home from Tazewell County wondering what might have been if they had made a few more shots. VHS converted just 18-of-49 field goal tries, including only nine-of-29 in the first half, when it missed five point-blank layups. "We came in here shooting 50 percent from the field and 40 percent from the 3-point line," Bearcats coach Doug Mitchell said. "Part of it might have been this is unfamiliar territory for us. Martinsville’s here every year." VHS’ leading scorer, senior forward C.J. Tillie, struggled the most against an aggressive man-to-man defense. Tillie hit his first shot – a 3-pointer late in the first quarter as the Bearcats took a 13-9 lead – but made just two-of-11 after that and finished with only 11 points. Still, VHS hung around behind a sizzling fourth quarter from Terrell Vereen, who scored 10 of his 14 in the quarter, and an excellent floor game from point guard Derek Hurt. Working against continuous pressure from a host of defenders, Hurt dished out eight assists and committed just three turnovers. "They’re an outstanding team," Bulldogs coach Troy Wells said. "Well-coached, good shooters ... you just don’t come up against a lot of dogs at this point of the year. We were fortunate." Wells’ comments aside, shooting had more to do with Martinsville’s win than happenstance. The Bulldogs canned 24-of-50 field goal attempts, including a key 3 from Arthur Dandridge after Vereen’s difficult reverse layup trimmed the Bearcats’ deficit to 45-41. "Seemed like we could never cut it down to one possession," Mitchell said. A steal and layup moments later pushed the lead back to nine, giving Martinsville enough cushion to withstand a last four minutes which included four missed free throws, three turnovers and some questionable shot selection. VHS got within 54-51 with 15 seconds left when Randy White, who led all scorers with 15, converted a Hurt feed in the lane. But a runout moments later led to the clinching bucket. The Bulldogs stayed alive for their 14th state title despite the absence of senior guard Emanuel Reid, a former Science Hill mainstay. An All-Arby’s Classic pick in December, Reid sustained a season-ending ACL tear earlier this month. "It’s been real hard for us since [Reid] went down," Hairston said. "But the rest of us have just had to step it up." It was the Bearcats’ last game as a Group AA member. They join the new Group A Clinch Mountain District next school year. VIRGINIA HIGH (51) Hurt 1 2-4 4, Tillie 3 4-4 11, Vereen 6 0-0 14, White 6 3-4 15, Shankel 1 0-0 2, Arnold 0 0-0 0, Moore 1 2-2 4, Marion 0 1-2 1. Totals 18 12-16 51. MARTINSVILLE (56) T. Hairston 2 2-4 6, V. Hairston 5 1-2 11, Burman 1 0-0 2, Trotter 5 0-2 10, Jackson 3 0-0 7, Dandridge 3 0-0 9, Morrison 0 0-0 0, Prickett 3 0-0 6, Hughes 0 0-0 0, Millner 2 1-1 5, Tyree 0 0-0 0. Totals 24 4-9 56. Virginia High 13 2 11 15–51 Martinsville 15 18 12 11–56 3-point goals–Virginia High 3 (Vereen 2, Tillie), Martinsville 4 (Dandridge 3, Jackson). Total fouls–Virginia High 10, Martinsville 15. Fouled out–None.

i seriously doubt you are better now when you are playin with your jayvee players.... who lost to marions jayvee so how in the world do you think you'll beat their varsity?

yea when abingdon and marion come into the district next year that will just be 4 more losses in the district for tazewell hahaha

put it this way marion isn't a push over though...

i'm sorry d-ral but marion beat patrick henry 79-26 i dont call that quiet the same, beat graham 88-81, beat carroll co. 80-66, and i believe marion already beat you once by 18 pts. and without walker i seriously doubt you have a chance of beatin marion...

yea probably... and with marion too on thurs haha

i believe i was right... mulkey had 31 pts. (6 three's)

marion is gonna dominate in soccer this year...

richlands is gonna kill tazewell... mulkey is gonna be droppin em' from the parkin lot.

yea i stormed the court and i sat 6 rows off the court across from the unc bench. beat that...

not so fast my friend... closer than the experts think

Green from Carrol Co.and Mulkey from Richlands in the backcourt. I dont know about down low.

They lost both games close though.... they should have beat chilhowie, but i dont know about Castlewood they are pretty good.

Best game of the year was Va High Vs. Marion (31-28) and Salem vs. Blacksburg (14-10)

Caleb Jennings needs to Wrestle