MONETA — On a cold and windy night at Staunton River High School, the Northside Vikings were “feeling hot, hot, hot.”
In front of a hostile crowd, the Vikings made the trip down from Roanoke and handily defeated Liberty, 81-58, in the Region III, Division 3, semifinal that was relocated from Robert E. Lee High School in Staunton.
The Minutemen were coming off a bye as the No. 1 seed and Northside knocked off Robert E Lee to set up the matchup.
Liberty looked rusty in the first quarter and the Vikings took full advantage, jumping out to a 23-14 lead after the first quarter and a 43-27 advantage at the end of the first half.
The Minutemen looked far from the Seminole District champs the first 16 minutes, but when the third quarter started, they came out with guns blazing as they went on a 15-9 run to cut the deficit to 10.
But then a major turning point in the game came when Malcolm McCoy was called for an intentional foul with Liberty down 14. Northside hit both of the free throws and never looked back, outscoring Liberty 25-16 the rest of the way to secure their spot in the AA state tournament.
Adam Burroughs had 21 points for the victorious Vikings. Antoine Richie added 14. Justin Martin had five 3-pointers to lead the way for the Minutemen with 15 points while Anthony Reynolds added 12.
Liberty ends with a record of 22-2 while Northside advances to play Waynesboro, a 58-57 winner over Rockbridge, in the Region III, D3, championship game Saturday night in Staunton. Game time is set for 7 p.m.
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