Nansemond River High School senior guard Josh Covington hit a go-ahead free throw with 12 seconds remaining against Kempsville High School on Wednesday, and the Warriors held on for a 48-47 home win, putting them above .500 for the season.

“I thought our energy was good when we came out in the first quarter,” Nansemond River coach Ed Young said.

While the Warriors were missing some shots, he noted they were solid on defense afterward, unlike their performance in a conference loss against Gloucester High School on Friday.

On Wednesday, Covington contributed seven points in the first quarter, helping his team possess a 15-13 lead entering the second period, during which he scored seven more points.

The Warriors and Chiefs matched each other’s offensive output in the second quarter, 15-15, meaning the home team led 30-28 at halftime.

Young said that on defense, his team concentrated on Kempsville’s Keith Page, who has been averaging 17 points a game. He hit a three-pointer in the first quarter and a layup in the second, accounting for five points in the half.

“We did a good job on him, but unfortunately, their point guard, Malik Jordan, scored 14 points in the first half for them,” Young said.

Nansemond River shot poorly in the third quarter, going 2-for-12 from the floor. Though benefiting from six more points from Covington, the Warriors were outscored 10-8 by Kempsville, making the game tied 38-38 going into the fourth.

“The fourth quarter was back and forth, back and forth,” Young said. “Covington got fouled with 12 seconds to go, a two-shot foul — missed the first and hit the second one, which gave him five points for the quarter, which (was) our leading scorer.”

Then the NR defense held Kempsville until the clock hit zero.

“What really worked for us in the fourth quarter was we went back to switching our defense,” Young said. “Just about every time we were down the floor, we switched our defenses, and it caused Kempsville problems.”

The Warriors went man-to-man and also ran some different zone defensive schemes.

After scoring 14 points in the first half, Malik Jordan was held to just four points in the second half and none in the fourth quarter.

Page was consistent, scoring five in the first half, then seven in the second half, “but he did not touch the ball for their last two possessions, (during) which they were trying to get him the ball,” Young said.

Nansemond River junior guard Nate Foster and senior guard Colby Williams were tasked with guarding Page, holding him five points below his average.

Covington finished the game with 25 points on 8-for-16 shooting from the floor and 7-for-13 shooting from the free throw line.

“His free throw shooting picked up in the fourth quarter — he was 3-for-4,” Young said.

Covington also had five assists, five steals and four rebounds.

Sophomore forward Gerard Stringer had six points and four boards, while Williams added six points.

The win pushed the Warriors above .500 for the season as they now hold an 8-7 record.

“We’ve been so up and down this year,” Young said. The team has been right there at .500, “but it feels like we’re seven games under .500, probably because of our past.”

Nansemond River’s past features one winning season after another, which has made the struggles of the last couple of years particularly difficult to bear.

But focusing on what his team did well on Wednesday, Young said, “I thought we had really good energy and (we were) a little bit more consistent at both ends of the floor, which we just haven’t been.”

The Warriors face Churchland High School on Saturday at 3:30 p.m. as part of the Bruin Classic at Western Branch High School.