Nansemond River’s shooting went cold at the wrong time and Oscar Smith rallied in the final few minutes to earn the Southeastern District boys basketball tournament final with a 53-49 win Friday night at King’s Fork.

Oscar Smith’s group of quick guards did to the Warriors what they did to get to the final in wins over Deep Creek and Lakeland.

The Warriors handled the Tiger pressure and speed well enough to have a 44-40 lead with 4:55 remaining in the game before a Warrior scoring drought of 3:53 allowed the Tigers to move in front for good.

The opening minutes signaled a high-scoring contest to go along with the blistering pace. Both sides knocked down two three-pointers in the first 90 seconds with Ashton Moore making the two Warrior triples.

As the pace settled down a bit, Warrior center John Joyce went to work inside. He scored twice off of offensive boards but was only keeping pace as the Tigers were led by senior guard Dejuan Wright.

Wright poured in nine points in the first quarter, hitting pull-up jumpers from the perimeter and slashing to the hoop for tough shots in traffic, as the Tigers led 16-14 after a quarter.

NR’s Shannon Evans, at 5-foot-11 by NR’s roster, excited the Warrior-heavy crowd by jamming home a one-handed rebound to give the Warriors a 19-18 lead.

Oscar Smith answered at the other end with a lay-up six seconds later.

Evans hit a three-pointer a minute later to put NR up 24-22. The Warriors held a 28-25 edge at the break. Moore hit a three from beyond the top of the key for the first points of the second half.

Oscar Smith answered right away, more so by turning up the defensive intensity on the Warriors.

The Tigers moved in front, 36-34, with 3:38 left in the third and led 39-36 going to the final period. Oscar Smith held the Warriors to five points in the last 7:45 of the third period.

Evans and Moore drained threes in the first 1:18 of the fourth period to give the Warriors the lead again. The long-range shooting didn’t last though as the Warriors finished the night making 7-of-23 three-point shots.

Wright hit from the beyond the arc to move the Tigers ahead 45-44 with 4:06 remaining.

Dontrell Brite picked off a Tiger pass near the top of the key and went in for a breakaway lay-in to bring NR within 48-46 with 1:02 and counting.

The Tigers were able to keep possession next time down and force the Warriors to put freshman guard Brehon Britt on the line with 0:24 left.

Even with a Warrior timeout between his two shots, Britt made both to give his side a two-possession lead.

Two more Tiger free throws made it 52-46. Brite hit a three-pointer with 0:04 left but Britt made 1-of-2 at the line to seal the Tiger win.

Moore led the Warriors with 15 points. Evans added 13 points. Joyce had 10 points, seven rebounds and seven blocks.

Wright finished with 17 points and five steals for the Tigers. Britt scored 10 of his 11 points in the second half.

Nansemond River (20-5) is still the No. 1 Southeastern seed in next week’s Eastern Region Tournament.

The Warriors will host Peninsula No. 4 Kecoughtan Monday at 8 p.m. in what is a huge Warrior doubleheader. The Lady Warriors (18-6) host Hampton at 6 p.m.