White leads Dan River to Group A semifinals

KING WILLIAM — Dan River senior guard Darren White told his coaches at halftime that he was going to take over in the second half against Lancaster. The Wildcats, trailing by two, needed a spark to get things going.

White scored 14 of his team-high 16 points in the second half, but it was three steals that the swingman gathered during a game-defining run that helped Dan River defeat Lancaster 63-60 Saturday night in a Group A Division 2 state quarterfinal at King William High School. The Wildcats unleashed a 15-2 burst to take control of the contest in the second half before hanging on for the victory.

Dan River (23-4) advances to the Group A state semifinals for the first time in school history and will take on Madison County, a 66-57 winner over Northampton, at 7 p.m. Thursday at the Siegel Center on the campus of Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond.

“We pressured them with our zone. We just went for every steal and played smart,” White said after finishing with seven steals, six rebounds and five assists. “We just wanted to get the lead and once we got it, we just coasted. We really weren’t worried about them coming back once we got the lead.”

Dan River, which only led once in the first three quarters, took the lead for good after White found Terrence Womack on two straight possessions, giving the Wildcats a 49-48 lead. The run didn’t stop there, as White turned his third steal into a layup and the run ended with Dan River leading 56-48.

In the final minute, Lancaster (19-4) twice the cut the deficit to two points, but much like Dan River during the first three quarters, could not get over the hump.

“We couldn’t score the ball the last quarter and we didn’t take it to the basket,” Lancaster senior forward Tevin Moore said. “We boxed out good, played them good, nothing to be upset about.”

Womack finished with 13 points, Trey Edmunds added 11 points while shooting 9-of-10 from the free throw line and R.J. Myers added nine points.

Lancaster’s Joseph Betts led all scorers with 21 points. C.J. Lee added 14, Javin Gibson chipped in nine and Moore finished with seven.

“We stopped pushing the ball up the floor at times. We had some looks when kids usually attack the basket, but we didn’t do that, we pulled it out,” Lancaster coach Tim Rice said. “We had some fast break opportunities and if we pushed it up the floor, we could have put them away.”

The Red Devils came out hot early, forcing steals and turning offensive rebounds into points as they built a 14-6 lead midway through the opening quarter. Lancaster gathered eight offensive rebounds in the first quarter as Dan River was not making the effort to box out.

The Wildcats went to a 2-3 zone for the last three quarters, slowing down the Red Devils. It briefly turned the tide in favor of Dan River, as the Wildcats went on a 14-4 run to take the lead at 24-22.

“We switched defenses. We did a couple of different things,” Dan River coach Jacob Gruse said. “We started attacking more and I think we just refused to lose today. We knew what was at hand.”

The third quarter was pure frustration for the Wildcats as they cut the lead to three points or less on five occasions but were unable to take the lead. Though, once the turnovers started going Dan River’s way, it was no turning back.

“Once we turned our tempo up, they couldn’t respond to it,” Edmunds said. “Our tempo was the key.”

Dan River lost to Madison County 56-48 in the Region B title game on Feb. 28. In that game, the Wildcats spotted the Mountaineers a 9-0 lead, but after getting it to 24-22 at halftime, failed to take the lead.

“We should have come out the gates a lot quicker, but it’s like we have to have somebody smack us in the face to wake up,” Gruse said. “Our team this year seems like they’re famous for going on an 11-0 run, then letting somebody come on an 8-2 run, but that’s just the solid ball that we play a little bit.”