Second-half surge lifts Altavista over Govs

ALTAVISTA — After trailing throughout the first half, Altavista’s boys basketball team shifted to a smaller lineup at halftime of its Dogwood District clash with Nelson County, Tuesday night at home.

The shift rejuvenated the defense and added some spark to the offense in a 63-52 victory.

“We played with all guards and I had to go to the 5 spot, offensively and defensively,” said senior 5-foot-10 guard Delvin Woodruff, who led the Colonels with 19 points, eight rebounds and six assists. “We had to step up and we came out with the win.”

Altavista coach Mike Cartolaro said the change was necessary to keep the team’s five-game winning streak alive, coming off an emotional weekend.

“After Saturday, when we had a huge crowd at home against Gretna, we came out flat tonight,” he said. “We played a real good second half, defensively and with our intensity level. We were much more aggressive on the boards.”

Coincidentally, the Governors suffered an injury to Thomas Napper, their top rebounder and best post player, soon after halftime.

“That’s a huge blow for us, especially defensively,” Nelson County coach Brandon Garrett said. “Psychologically and emotionally, it took a toll on us. We really weren’t the same after that. We lost the inside threat and were doing a lot of one-on-one after that. We went away from what we were doing in the first half.”

Garrett said Altavista athletic trainer Angela Emmerson told him Napper suffered an injury to the meniscus in his left knee.

“Best-case scenario, he’ll be back in a week,” Garrett said. “Worst-case scenario, he’s done for the year.”

Altavista (8-10, 7-3 Dogwood) pounced on the Governors (7-11, 3-6) after Napper went out.

“When he went down, he’s their best rebounder so it opened up a lot of spots for us to get the rebounds,” Woodruff said.

“Delvin stepped in and played good around the rim and got a couple big rebounds,” Cartolaro added. “He played around the rim rather than just on the perimeter. You’ve got to be able to do both.”

Nelson sophomore point guard Adam Pickett, who led all scorers with 28 points, wasn’t as much of a factor in the second half, after netting 17 before the break. The Governors settled for low-percentage outside shots, tossing up a few airballs from 3-point range.

“They lit it up early [from 3-point range] and they didn’t hit them in the second half,” Cartolaro said.

Meanwhile, Rick Adams, the quarterback on the football team and pitcher and shortstop on the baseball squad, shot 4-for-5 from 3-point range for the Colonels, matching freshman point guard Juan Thornhill with 16 points.

“Juan’s become the guy that’s getting to the rim the best for us,” Cartolaro said. “He’s just a freshman, but he’s not playing like a freshman. He has a lot of confidence now.”

Altavista mostly fed off of its three seniors — Woodruff, Adams and Jarrod Hunt.

Two minutes into the fourth quarter, Woodruff drained a 3-pointer from the left corner, assisted by Hunt before Nelson County’s Jerome Glover answered with a trey from the top left of the arc, keeping the Governors within 46-42.

Then, after Thornhill was fouled on a spin move into the lane, but missed both free throws, Woodruff stripped the rebound out of the hands of Nelson’s Tyler Vest under the basket and hit a quick banker from point-blank range.

On Altavista’s next possession, Hunt took an open lane and converted a contested layup before Woodruff threaded a pass from beyond the top of the key through the lane to a cutting Eric Poindexter for an uncontested score, stretching the lead to 52-44. 

  “Eric Poindexter came off the bench and gave us a lift,” Cartolaro said. “Our three seniors really stepped it up in the second half. This is the time of year when you have to step up.”