Eastern Region basketball semis night one

In the girls semifinal, Heritage led Wilson by seven at halftime and used a suffocating defense and an opportunistic offense to end any Lady Presidents hope for a win. Heritage's Sonia Johnson led all scorers with 20 points and Bonae Holston added ten points as the lady Canes outscored Wilson in the second half, 28-15. Shakiyla Finney, sister of ODU freshman standout Ben Finney, led Wilson with ten points as they close out the season at 23-5. In improving to 24-2, Heritage will play the winner of Friday's semifinal between Princess Anne and Lake Taylor in the regional final Monday night at 6pm at Churchland. The Lady Canes also earn a berth in the upcoming state tournament.
The boys semifinal featured a Bethel Bruin squad, winners of 26 of its 27 games this season, against an upstart Norcom team coming in at 17-10. The Greyhounds gave the Bruins all they could handle and then some tonight as Bethel fought hard to earn a 23-22 halftime lead. Both teams battling back and forth all night long as each team had a lead no bigger than five points. Darius Theus scored 11 of his 20 points in the third quarter for Norcom, but Bethel roared back as regulation ended with both teams tied at 46-46. Norcom held a one point lead in the extra session, only to see the Bruins force turnovers on three straight Greyhound possessions to take the lead away and end Norcom's upset hopes. Bill Weaver led Bethel with 17 points, Mbai Goto Olivier added 16, Paul Meredith six points in O.T. as Bethel improves to 27-1 and advances to Monday's regional final at 8pm also at Churchland against the winner of Friday's all-Southeastern matchup between Deep Creek and King's Fork. And of course, Bethel guarantees themselves a spot in the VHSL state tournament. Norcom's season comes to an end at 17-11.