Norfolk Academy defeated Nansemond-Suffolk Academy’s boys’ basketball team 68-63 on Tuesday evening in the quarterfinals of the Tidewater Conference of Independent Schools tournament.

“It was a great game,” Saints coach Lamont Strothers said. “It was one of those type of games you’re glad you are a part of but don’t want to lose. It was a hard-fought game.”

The Saints were down by as many as nine points during the game but fought their way back and even took the lead at one point. But Norfolk Academy made a late fourth-quarter run that put them back in the lead. NSA had to foul at the end of the game, and the Bulldogs were successful enough from the line to win the game. Norfolk Academy shot 41 free-throws for the game to the Saints’ 16.

Allen Strothers led the way for the Saints with 15 points. Coach Strothers mentioned how fun it was to coach his team this year and the improvement he saw.

“It was great,” Strothers said. “You can see the improvement from the first game to the last game. Everybody bought into what we were trying to do. Next year we have a clean slate, and the sky is the limit for these guys.”

With how young the Saints are, they will be in contention in the TCIS in the coming seasons. NSA only had one senior in Shuan Faulk, which means the rest of the team will be returning next year. During the summer, Strothers plans for his team to continue to build chemistry as they play alongside each other.

“Watching the kids that have been here for a while experience success and talk about NSA as a whole blesses my heart,” Strothers said. “I’m excited about what the future holds for NSA basketball.”