Suffolk News-Herald

Vaughn Wilson and Andre Jones had 20 points each and Keith Josey had a double-double with 15 points and 10 rebounds as Nansemond River held on to defeat visiting Indian River 64-61 on Monday, recovering from their loss to Potomac in Saturday’s Suffolk Roundball Classic. Though the Warriors never trailed from the midway point of the first quarter, the Braves cut a nine-point lead to two in less than four minutes in the fourth, and missed two three-pointers in the final 10 seconds.

Jones and Josey combined for 17 of the Warriors’ first 19 points in the first 6:50, and a layup by D.J. Bell tied the score at 19 with a minute to go. That’s when NR made its first offensive move.

Wilson, who led the team with eight assists, drained a three-pointer, then fired a pass to a streaking Jones, who laid the ball in to go up 24-19 as the quarter ended. Eleven seconds into the second half, Jerome Burgess swished two free throws, and Jones added another a minute later. Josey broke through for a layup, and the NR lead was 10. The rest of the half was even, ending with the Warriors ahead 38-29.

For the first two minutes of the second half, it seemed that the Braves had stolen the momentum, as Phillip Skeeter, Frank Hassell and Stephen Kelly scored five points to get to 38-34. But Josey and Wilson hit three free throws, and Jones hit a jumper to go back up, 43-34 with three minutes left.

The back-and-forth battle continued, as neither team scored more than four straight points for the next eight minutes. Wilson sank three one-pointers to give his team a 61-54 advantage with 2:21 to play, but Marquis Anderson hit a three-pointer from the corner 15 seconds later. Burgess and Donte Watkins hit two free throws each, giving NR a 63-59 lead with 1:47 left.

Anderson swished another jumper at the 1:15 mark, and the Warriors went into a stall, churning up over half the time. Mark Brown was fouled with 31 seconds left, and hit the front end of a one-and-one. Josey pulled down the rebound, but the ball was knocked from his hands, and the Braves recovered. Kelly missed a three-pointer, but the Braves got the ball back, and called timeout with 12 seconds left.

Jones nearly stole the inbounds pass, but the Braves got it. A three-point attempt from the left hit the rim and bounced off to the right, where another Braves grabbed it. His attempt hit the rim and bounced straight up, and Jones leaped up and pulled in the rebound as the buzzer sounded.

&uot;We had to forget about our last game and move on,&uot; Jones said. &uot;I had to get that rebound and not let them get it.&uot;

Lakeland fell to host Western Branch 39-31. Jaleel Nelson led the Cavaliers with 12 points.

Nansemond River’s and Lakeland’s girls fell in their respective games.