Friday night at the Northside gym, the Vikings had visions of a key Blue Ridge District win over the visitors from William Byrd.
Little doubt fellow-juniors Kendrick Tucker and Carlos Basham provided the high-beam headlights.
Combining for 50 of Northside’s 68 points, the Viking duo led the way as Northside defeated the Terriers 68-61 in the battle between “Big-11” #2 and #3 teams to put itself in excellent position for the upcoming Conference 31 postseason tournament.
Tucker worked efficiently from the perimeter all night, hitting 3 times from behind-the-arc and establishing a fierce dribble-drive that led to numerous Viking baskets. When Tucker, who finished with a game-high 26 points, wasn’t cashing in himself, the recipient of his passes and dishes was often Basham. The 6-foot-4 Basham, who owned the paint with layins and second-chance baskets, poured in 24 points and pulled down 10 rebounds.
“These two guys had big games tonight,” Northside head coach Billy Pope said in the corridor as both players exited the Viking locker room after the game. “Very big games.”
Everyone among the sizable crowd in the Northside gym was expecting an offensive showdown between the vertically superior Terriers and the lightning fast Viking starting five who can dominate from long range and drive if given an opening.
After four lead changes to open the game, Northside got the first edge after going an 8-3 run to close the first quarter for a 18-11 advantage after one frame.
The Vikings came out on fire to start the second, with George Bright, Tucker and J.D.Mundy all hitting from long range to help push the Northside lead to 30-15. Byrd closed with a 8-3 run that sent the teams to the halftime break with the Vikings up 33-23.
The Terriers began chipping away in the third quarter. Dylan Gravley, Damon Childress and Drew Hayden each hit 3-pointers, and when Gravley scored on a breakaway layup and harm, Byrd took their first lead of the second half, 41-40. The teams headed to the final eight minutes with the Terriers up 46-45.
Byrd was still up 50-45 early in the fourth after a pair of free throws from Hayden, but things changed in a hurry after Terrier 6-foot-7 senior Alex Herron fouled out and the Byrd perimeter game went cold, leaving the Viking’s Basham the opportunity to set up shop down low. Basham had 13 of his 24 points in the fourth quarter.
“I was getting open on layups and rebounds,” Basham said of his scoring run. “It was a carry-over from practice this week. Coach Pope had us working on layups and stick-backs.”
Basham’s two free throws tied the game at 52 with 3:37 left and Mundy led a late charge that had the Vikings up by as many as 11 in the final minute.
Northside dominated from the charity stripe, outscoring the Terriers 17-4 while toeing the line 25 times compared to Byrd’s 9 chances.
“It came down to intensity down the stretch,” Pope noted. “We knew Byrd would make a run like they did in the third quarter. But, the way we play, we play fast and we kept battling. In a game like this there’s a lot of possessions, so things can happen fast.”
“We’ve got to clean things up at the rim,” Byrd head coach Kevin Tuck said afterward. “Northside got second chances and rebounds when they needed them.”
“We hit the outside shot when we made the comeback in the third quarter, and we missed those same shots late in the game,” Tuck added. “I have no issue in our shot selection. We just need to get back to Byrd basketball.”
Childress led the Terrier attack with 17 points. Hayden added 15, with senior Evan Owens knocking down 13 points for Byrd.
Northside improved to 17-3, while Byrd fell to 16-4 on the season.
Bill Turner
