by Lisa Hinton-Valdrighi
The scenario seems all too familiar.
Lancaster heads into this week’s Class 1 state boys basketball tournament as the clear favorite. Last year, the Red Devils took a one-loss campaign into the state playoffs. This year, the record is unblemished at 26-0. But this year, according to coach Dwayne Pinn and his high-scoring Devils, the outcome’s going to be different.
“Last year is in all of our heads,” said senior Tyson Henderson, who exceeded the 1000-career scoring mark in the first half of last Friday’s Region 1A championship win, 64-50, over Middlesex.
“Our focus level is up. Our intensity level is up,” he added.
The Devils fell a game short of the state final in 2022, getting tripped up by Westmoreland in the Class 1 semifinal after beating the Eagles three times during the season including in the regional championship.
“I think we built something, learned something, after last year,” said Pinn. “We have a certain type of poise now.”
The Devils fended off a tenacious Middlesex High team last Friday to win the regional title and earn a home berth—of sorts—in this week’s state tournament. As mandated by Virginia High School League, state quarterfinals and semifinals must be played at a neutral site, so Lancaster and Region B runner-up Franklin will play at 7 p.m. Friday, March 3, at New Kent High School.
Franklin was the number one seed in Region B but lost to Altavista, 76-70, in that region’s tournament final last week. Middlesex, as the Region A runner-up, will play Altavista at 5:30 p.m. tomorrow at Heritage High School in Lynchburg.
Franklin brings a 24-3 record into….
