By Ben Spector
SALISBURY-From the beginning, of Game #2 of the 2015 Governor’s Challenge the Kempsville Chiefs out of Virginia Beach, Virginia had the number of the Mardela Warriors. Kempsville was rebounding just a little bit better than the Warriors, they were shooting just a little bit better, and they were playing defense just a little bit better.
In the end, that would make all the difference for the Chiefs as all the small things would come together giving them the win over Mardela by a score of 60-31.
Kempsville would come out of the gates punching as Tyler McCoy bucket for Mardela interrupted what would’ve been a 17-0 run for the Chiefs if not for the bucket by McCoy. Turning quarters into runs would become a habit for the Chiefs as they would go on a 17-2 run in the first quarter and then a 13-2 run that encompassed most of the 2nd quarter.
It seemed that as from the beginning Kempsville would run the table as their up-tempo offense allowed them not to only dictate the pace of the game but give a chance for their up-tempo defense to do some work.
In the first half, the Chiefs were shooting the ball well with, shooting 52% from inside the arc and then 54.5% from outside the arc with junior guard Bryant Page putting up 13 points in 16 minutes while making 8 out of his 12 shots.
The defense was doing big things too for the Chiefs as in the 1st half alone Kempsville had 10 points off of turnovers while also recording 4 steals.
The second half became a matter of finishing for Kempsville and they finished in style outscoring Mardela in the final two quarters even with most of their starters on the bench.
In the end, the little bit in which Kempsville played better than Mardela would end up making a lot of difference and pushing the Chiefs into the final of Boys Bracket #5 against King’s Christian.
