RICHMOND, VA (WAVY) — Time was ticking, and as Tuscarora’s Jayden Johnson hit his sixth 3-pointer of the game, Hampton’s lead slowly faded, too.
With just seconds to go, the Crabbers led by just three points, with Tuscarora getting a last shot to tie the game and send it to overtime, but it hit the left side of the iron, and Hampton pulled out the Class 4 state title, 66-63. It’s the Crabbers’ first state championship since 2012.
Three Crabbers scored in double figures. led by Abraham Taft with 15 points, Gavin Kay with 14 and Kharon Clarke had 10.
Hampton was up by 15 points with less than four minutes to go in the fourth quarter, but a late, 14-4 run from the Huskies made the game interesting and made Crabbers fans a little nervous, but they held on.
“It means everything,” said Hampton head coach Eric Brown. “I thank the kids because they bought into this all year. It’s a group effort. We don’t have one guy who stands out. It’s a complete group effort, and that’s why this group stands out.”