Laura Clark / Nelson County Times
Published: February 23, 2008

It was the fourth meeting between the two schools, with Nelson leading the series 3-1. When teams know each other as well as these two do, and are as evenly matched, the old coach's clich- of doing the little things right holds true.

"It feels like we're the same team, so it's about who plays smarter, who makes better decisions. Down the stretch we made better decisions," said Gov Thomas Brown, who scored a game-high 23 points and was named district player of the year for the second consecutive season.

T.J. Martin hit all six of his free throws in the game, including two with 13 seconds left in the fourth quarter to put Nelson up 47-44.

"I knew I had to make them," Martin said. "We practiced free throws, 100 each (this week)."

Altavista had a chance to tie the game as they broke Nelson's full-court press. Trevor Hall missed a three from the top of the key, but the Colonels got the jump-ball possession with 3.2 seconds remaining. Roger Woodruff's inbounds pass missed its mark on the perimeter, landing squarely in Gov Trevor Martin's hands to end the game.

Both teams began the game pushing the ball up the floor. Nelson jumped out to a nine-point lead in the first quarter, paced by Brown, who scored six underneath and hit four free throws. Then Nelson's shooting went cold, and the Colonels took the lead.

Woodruff made a layup, then stole the inbounds pass and dished to Johnny Wimbush for another Altavista bucket. Trevor Hall grabbed a defensive rebound and hit two free throws to give the Colonels their first big lead, 27-21, before Brown hit a long three to close the half. Nelson shot 28 percent from the field in the first half.

Gov center Steve Washington got Nelson back in the game to open the third quarter, regaining the lead with back-to-back buckets inside. Neither team could establish momentum, and emotions ran high between the players. Chris Jones picked up his third and fourth fouls as the third quarter ended.

"We lost some composure," Nelson coach Brandon Garrett said. "We had to regroup a little bit. We just talked about what's at stake, and like last night, having some pride."

In the fourth quarter, Altavista went up by six when Mike Poindexter found Wimbush inside. Mike Jones answered by putting back Trevor Martin's three-point attempt, and Brown hit two free throws and a three-pointer to tie the game at 42. Nelson took the lead when Brown stole the ball at mid-court and made a layup. Then Poindexter went up and under to tie the game with one minute left.

Brown was fouled on the baseline and hit his second free throw to put Nelson up by one. Altavista's Gavin Monroe was called for charge as he drove in to take the lead, and this turnover set up T.J. Martin's trip to the foul line.

"We went out there in the fourth quarter and took control of a couple situations," said Garrett, who was named district coach of the year. "A couple calls went our way, and it turned out good for us. We put a lot of work in to get to this point. They know us. We know them. It's just keeping focus, the mental part of the game."

For Altavista (20-5), Wimbush had 12 points, Poindexter had 11, and Woodruff had eight. T.J. Martin had nine for Nelson. Washington had eight points.

The Govs (24-1) will host an undetermined opponent Tuesday at 7 p.m. at Amherst County High School in the first round of the Region B tournament.

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