NEWPORT NEWS — What is becoming a classic three-way battle for Peninsula District boys basketball supremacy this season spawned another packed gymnasium and down-to-the wire battle.
Woodside won for the first time in the round-robin, beating host Denbigh 46-42 as Wayne Santos made two clinching free throws with 8.8 seconds left. Remarkably, in a game where every possession was defended intensely, they were the only points the Wolverines (5-3, 4-1 district) scored in the fourth quarter against the previously unbeaten Patriots (7-1, 6-1).
“I put a lot of responsibility on that kid and he’s been hurt, so he’s still trying to catch up to speed,” Woodside coach Stefan Welsh said of Santos, a junior point guard, playing just his fourth game after being sidelined twice with a hip pointer. “He’s getting better every time out.
“He’s a natural-born scorer learning to run a basketball team and makes all the right basketball plays. The way he controlled the pace tonight, and made sure we executed, is a big reason we were able to pull off this win on the road in front of a sold-out crowd.”
The pace varied, from frenetic at the start, delighting the frenzied crowd, to a grind befitting the three-way district race that includes Hampton (9-1, 5-1) — which lost a 49-44 nail-biter at Denbigh to start its season, before edging Woodside 56-54 in overtime.
The Wolverines seized a 19-12 advantage after a quarter with four 3-pointers, two by Marlon Montague (eight points), who hit one at the final buzzer. Denbigh rallied to within 21-20 by relentlessly attacking the basket, but 3-pointers by Santos and Donnell Jarrett (12 points) in the final seconds pushed the Woodside lead to 33-24 at halftime.
“Our defense is designed to make you take (outside) shots and they were scoring points (18 of 24 in the first half) in the paint,” said Welsh, who guided the Wolverines to Class 5 state titles in 2023 and ’24, and to the state semifinals a year ago. “We have to clean that up.”
Silenced in the first half, Denbigh’s Kevin Parker scored 12 of his 14 points after intermission to lead a rally that pulled the Patriots to within 44-42 midway through the fourth quarter. But the Wolverines held the Patriots scoreless in six field-goal attempts down the stretch.
On one key possession, Jarrett and Trenton Smalling (11 points) blocked Denbigh shots, before the Woodside defense forced Parker into a wild miss. Denbigh’s final two shots were missed 3-pointers, exactly what Woodside wanted, before Santos made the clinching free throws.
“All we really work on is defense,” the Wolverines’ Jayden Detrick said. “When (Welsh) tells us we need to work on defense, we’ll spend the whole two hours on it.”
Detrick added, “Winning in this atmosphere was fun. I love it.”
