Page Falls Hard
Altavista Cruises To Regional Title
Posted: February 24, 2013
PENN LAIRD — Page County High School senior Tanner Dofflemyer admitted that he didn’t know much about Altavista’s boys’ basketball team heading into a Saturday regional championship bout.
It turns out that the Colonels are scary good – and probably will be for the next few years.
AHS, with four sophomores and a junior in its starting lineup, led by 20 points in barely a quarter-and-a-half and hardly relented in a 68-42 win in the Region B title game in front of a near-capacity crowd at Spotswood High School, the Colonels’ sixth regional crown in 12 years.
“Very athletic,” Dofflemyer said of the Colonels, shaking his head. “Very, very athletic.”
Both teams advance to the state tournament next weekend. Altavista (21-3) will host Region A runner-up Surry County, while Page (23-5) plays Region A champion West Point at Old Dominion University.
The Colonels were the No. 2 seed against the top-seed Panthers – PCHS earned the top spot by sweeping the Shenandoah District regular-season and tournament championships, while Altavista was the Dogwood District tournament runner-up. But there was no question which team had more talent after the opening tip.
Page – which starts two seniors – particularly had no answer for the inside-out sophomore duo of center Darius Johnson and guard Juan Thornhill. Johnson muscled his way to 24 points and 16 rebounds, while the smooth Thornhill added 23 points – including three thunderous dunks.
“We have a very, very young group,” AHS coach Mike Cartolaro said. “We still have our moments where we show we’re young, but we’re pretty scary at times, too.”
The Panthers hung around briefly, trailing 8-6 after Dofflemyer’s step-back jumper with 4 minutes, 11 seconds left in the first quarter. Then, the margin got ugly.
Fueled by Johnson and Thornhill – both of whom are already getting college recruiting interest, Cartolaro said – AHS zoomed out to a 27-7 advantage by the 3:51 mark of the second quarter and held its largest lead of 30 (45-15) midway through the third. Page never got the deficit below 20 from there.
Dofflemyer scored 19 for the Panthers, who could see Altavista again in the D-1 state tournament, although it wouldn’t be until the championship game.
“I think next week at practice, we’ll definitely prepare for them [the Colonels],” Dofflemyer said. “The farther we move on, if we keep winning, then we’ll definitely prepare for ’em, and watch film, and see what they’re doing, and maybe have a better chance of stopping it.”
In front of a Page crowd that remained raucous for all 32 minutes, the Panthers kept playing hard – including diving after several loose balls late in the fourth quarter – even as the game was clearly out of reach.
“That shows a lot about the character about our kids,” Purdham said.
So, too, did the Colonels, even leaving several starters in until the end, after Page had emptied its bench. Thornhill’s last dunk came against Panther reserves with 1:03 remaining.
When asked if he was surprised the Colonels kept starters in so late, PCHS coach Mike Purdham replied, “No, I’m not surprised.” When asked why not, he only repeated, “I’m not surprised.”
“Honestly, in a game like that – they started hitting shots, and they’re a dangerous team,” Cartolaro said, explaining why he left starters in. “We were up 20-something, and they knocked down three 3s. …I wasn’t trying to run up the score.”
ALTAVISTA
Maulbeck 1 3-4 5, Thornhill 10 2-6 23, De. Johnson 0 4-4 4, Da. Johnson 12 2-3 27, Hubbard 3 0-0 9. Totals 26 11-17 68.
PAGE COUNTY
McKay 2 0-0 4, Shuler 2 5-8 10, Dofflemyer 8 2-2 19, Brown 2 2-3 6, Mayes 0 1-2 1, Kibler 1 0-0 2. Totals 15 10-15 42.
Altavista 15 21 13 19 - 68
Page Co. 7 4 12 19 - 42
3-Point Goals—Altavista 5 (Thornhill 1, Da. Johnson 1, Hubbard 3). Fouled Out—None. Rebounds—Altavista 31 (Da. Johnson 16), Page 13 (Dofflemyer 4). Total Fouls—Altavista 17, Page 19.
It turns out that the Colonels are scary good – and probably will be for the next few years.
AHS, with four sophomores and a junior in its starting lineup, led by 20 points in barely a quarter-and-a-half and hardly relented in a 68-42 win in the Region B title game in front of a near-capacity crowd at Spotswood High School, the Colonels’ sixth regional crown in 12 years.
“Very athletic,” Dofflemyer said of the Colonels, shaking his head. “Very, very athletic.”
Both teams advance to the state tournament next weekend. Altavista (21-3) will host Region A runner-up Surry County, while Page (23-5) plays Region A champion West Point at Old Dominion University.
The Colonels were the No. 2 seed against the top-seed Panthers – PCHS earned the top spot by sweeping the Shenandoah District regular-season and tournament championships, while Altavista was the Dogwood District tournament runner-up. But there was no question which team had more talent after the opening tip.
Page – which starts two seniors – particularly had no answer for the inside-out sophomore duo of center Darius Johnson and guard Juan Thornhill. Johnson muscled his way to 24 points and 16 rebounds, while the smooth Thornhill added 23 points – including three thunderous dunks.
“We have a very, very young group,” AHS coach Mike Cartolaro said. “We still have our moments where we show we’re young, but we’re pretty scary at times, too.”
The Panthers hung around briefly, trailing 8-6 after Dofflemyer’s step-back jumper with 4 minutes, 11 seconds left in the first quarter. Then, the margin got ugly.
Fueled by Johnson and Thornhill – both of whom are already getting college recruiting interest, Cartolaro said – AHS zoomed out to a 27-7 advantage by the 3:51 mark of the second quarter and held its largest lead of 30 (45-15) midway through the third. Page never got the deficit below 20 from there.
Dofflemyer scored 19 for the Panthers, who could see Altavista again in the D-1 state tournament, although it wouldn’t be until the championship game.
“I think next week at practice, we’ll definitely prepare for them [the Colonels],” Dofflemyer said. “The farther we move on, if we keep winning, then we’ll definitely prepare for ’em, and watch film, and see what they’re doing, and maybe have a better chance of stopping it.”
In front of a Page crowd that remained raucous for all 32 minutes, the Panthers kept playing hard – including diving after several loose balls late in the fourth quarter – even as the game was clearly out of reach.
“That shows a lot about the character about our kids,” Purdham said.
So, too, did the Colonels, even leaving several starters in until the end, after Page had emptied its bench. Thornhill’s last dunk came against Panther reserves with 1:03 remaining.
When asked if he was surprised the Colonels kept starters in so late, PCHS coach Mike Purdham replied, “No, I’m not surprised.” When asked why not, he only repeated, “I’m not surprised.”
“Honestly, in a game like that – they started hitting shots, and they’re a dangerous team,” Cartolaro said, explaining why he left starters in. “We were up 20-something, and they knocked down three 3s. …I wasn’t trying to run up the score.”
ALTAVISTA
Maulbeck 1 3-4 5, Thornhill 10 2-6 23, De. Johnson 0 4-4 4, Da. Johnson 12 2-3 27, Hubbard 3 0-0 9. Totals 26 11-17 68.
PAGE COUNTY
McKay 2 0-0 4, Shuler 2 5-8 10, Dofflemyer 8 2-2 19, Brown 2 2-3 6, Mayes 0 1-2 1, Kibler 1 0-0 2. Totals 15 10-15 42.
Altavista 15 21 13 19 - 68
Page Co. 7 4 12 19 - 42
3-Point Goals—Altavista 5 (Thornhill 1, Da. Johnson 1, Hubbard 3). Fouled Out—None. Rebounds—Altavista 31 (Da. Johnson 16), Page 13 (Dofflemyer 4). Total Fouls—Altavista 17, Page 19.