Five area squads will play for state basketball titles

GW Danville, Northside and Radford boys, Pulaski Co. and Parry McCluer girls win

ROANOKE, Va. – Five area squads have reached the VHSL state basketball finals. On the boys side, GW Danville turned the tables on Region 4D champion Jefferson Forest with a 53-38 win. 

The Eagles will take on Louisa County at 8 p.m. Thursday at the Siegel Center in Richmond for the VHSL Class 4 championship.

"That's what you have to do, mentally have to be tough, physically have to be tough down the stretch and the guys came here tonight and they were tough.  They came up here, they bonded together and we were tough and I'm 100 percent proud of these guys and everything that they do and the effort they put out tonight for the game.  I'm just happy that they have an opportunity to go to the state championship," GW Danville coach Jermaine Parker said.

In Class 3 action, Northside defeated crosstown rival Cave Spring 74-53 to advance to the school's second state final in three seasons. The Vikings Julien Wooden led the way with 36 points. Northside will take on Phoebus for the VHSL Class 3 state title at 2:30 p.m. Thursday at the Siegel Center.

"It's very hard to get there, so we don't take it for granted, not any of the season we take it for granted. I know how special this is.  I've been doing this a few years, so I know how special it is.  We just wanted to keep trying to get better and we have, but it is a really great feeling. We have a chance, we've still got a chance," longtime Northside coach Bill Pope said.

The Radford boys will return to the state finals after taking down last year's nemesis Gate City by a 79-65 count. The Bobcats got 42 points from Quinton Morton-Robertson, including 21 in the fourth quarter to seal the win. Radford will face East Rockingham at 6:30 p.m. Saturday in Richmond for the Class 2 state title.

There was "a lot of hard work that we put into this game. A lot of preps for this game and we went over to scout for them. It was a great opponent that we just played. There's not much more you can say about Gate City. They're a great team, well-coached and they play super hard. We knew that we had to come out and play super hard to get this 'W'. I think we played really good and got a lot of loose balls," Radford guard Morton-Robertson said. 

In girls action Tuesday night, Pulaski County flipped the result of the region final by defeating rival Carroll County in the state semifinal 63-58. The Cougars will take on Lake Taylor at 6 p.m. Thursday for the Class 4 girls state title. 

In Class 3, Lord Botetourt's quest for back-to-back titles ended in the state semifinals with a 47-42 loss to Spotswood. The Lady Cavaliers finished 27-2 on the season. 

In Class 1, Parry McCluer's march to a third straight state crown continues after a 48-31 win over Honaker. the Fightin' Blues will battle Surry County for the girls state crown in Class 1 at 11 a.m. Saturday at the Siegel Center.