The Nansemond River High School Warriors shut down host Smithfield High School on Saturday night, pulling away early and never looking back on their way to an 83-47 victory.

“It’s a good team effort,” Warriors head coach Ed Young said of the win.

Defense played a major role as Nansemond River limited the Packers to 31.3-percent shooting.

“We really held them down,” Young said. “They’re normally a pretty good shooting team.”

The Warriors held Smithfield’s leading scorer to two points.

“(Kevin) Davis, in his first varsity start did a pretty good job defensively on him, along with Marvin Branch and Devon Oakley,” Young said.

Adding to this, Nansemond River excelled on offense, as well.

“We shot 34-of-60 from the floor,” Young said, “Our best shooting of the year, (56.7) percent.”

Warriors senior Jalen Warren scored six of his nine points in the first quarter, and the visitors began the second period up 21-10. By halftime, the score was 44-21.

“We outscored them in the third quarter, 19-7,” Young said. “We wore them out. Fourth quarter was just a shootout back and forth, a lot of subbing. We outscored them 20-19.”

Leading Nansemond River was junior Scott Spencer with 20 points, 13 rebounds and five steals to go with three blocks. Senior Devon Oakley had 18 points, five boards, three assists, four steals and two blocks while senior Daniel Wallace had 16 points, 13 boards, eight assists and five blocks.

Warren continued his steady production with five assists and three steals to go with his nine points.

“He’s been playing really well lately,” Young said.

After the win, Nansemond River has been named by VirginiaPreps.com as the No. 1 team in the state among Group 4A schools.

The Warriors (8-0, 2-0) play Riverbend High School on Friday in the King George Holiday Tournament at King George High School.