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The Nansemond River Warrior boys toppled the Deep Creek Hornets 75-60 with a dominant second-half performance Friday at home.

The Warriors overcame a sloppy first half, outsourcing the Hornets 41-22 in the second half. 

The Warriors started slow, but with under five minutes to play in the half, junior George Porter took matters into his own hands, dropping all 11 of his points in the second period, keeping the Warriors within five at the break.

Porter said he had to pick up his teammates and get the energy flowing.

“I can’t let them down,” he said. “I just had to turn them up. It felt good. I couldn’t have done it without my teammates.”

Going into the contest, coach Ed Young told his team they not only needed to match the energy he knew the Hornets would bring but surpass it. 

“Deep Creek plays with a lot of high energy,” Young said after the game. “Coach Frost is one of my former assistants. I know what he stands for, and his kids always play hard. And I told our kids we were not matching it. We have to surpass that energy.”

The Warriors came out of the break a different team. Led by senior Haven Nicholas’ eight-point third period — including two huge dunks — the Warriors made it difficult for the Hornets to find the bottom of the net. Going on an 11-2 run, they outscored Deep Creek 24-15. 

“I just came out and just supported the team, supported my guys,” Nicholas said. “I just did what I needed to do to get the win.”

Young credited his bench for giving quality minutes, especially in the second quarter when they couldn’t keep momentum in their favor.

“A big factor was guys came off the bench and gave us some great minutes and especially the second quarter,” Young said. “I’m just proud of the kids. They came back. We get a little dicey when we get behind, but they held their composure.”

Sophomore Taron Atwater led all scorers with 14 points. The Warriors take its 4-1 record into a tournament at Warwick beginning on Wednesday, Dec. 20.