wakefield-cooper
The Warriors' A'Mari Cooper drives to the basket Thursday afternoon in Richmond.

Varina rallies past Wakefield to claim state championship

Varina (26-2) overcame a double-digit lead in the second half, rallying to defeat Wakefield in the Class Five state title game Thursday afternoon, 64-60.

Junior Tyrese Jenkins scored 21 points and freshman Anthony Williams 17 for the Blue Devils, who won their first basketball state title in their school’s history. Junior center Robert Starkey led the Warriors (25-7) with a career-high 20 points, while senior forward A’Mari Cooper added nine points and ten rebounds. The Warriors led for most of the game and by eight at halftime, but saw their lead slip away early in the fourth quarter.

“Both teams came to play. We knew it was going to be a game of runs–we just wish it was us at the end of that last one,” Wakefield coach Tony Bentley said.

–Chris Jollay

WAKEFIELD FG FT TP REB AST
COOPER 3-6 3-5 9 10 1
HATCHER 2-3 0-0 4 2 0
HORSFORD 2-8 4-4 9 2 3
WARNER 2-13 2-4 8 3 5
STARKEY 9-14 2-2 20 4 0
Clark 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
Watkins 2-2 0-0 4 1 1
Karton 0-2 2-2 2 1 1
Tham 2-2 0-0 4 1 1
TOTALS 22-50 13-17 60 24 12
Threes: Warner 2-6, Horsford 1-3, Karton 0-1
VARINA FG FT TP REB AST
RICHARDSON 5-11 3-5 13 6 1
NELSON 1-5 0-0 2 2 4
JENKINS 6-8 7-8 21 8 2
A.WILLIAMS 6-10 3-4 17 1 1
PINCHBACK 1-1 0-0 2 4 1
Wiggins 0-1 0-0 0 0 1
Tart 1-3 0-0 3 1 1
Hernandez 2-5 2-4 6 1 1
J.Williams 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
TOTALS 22-44 15-21 64 23 12
Threes: Jenkins 2-3, A.Williams 2-5, Tart 1-2, Nelson 0-3