Two Fredericksburg area basketball teams punched tickets to the Virginia High School League state tournament Wednesday night, as the Massaponax High School boys defeated Riverside 53-49 in the Region 5D semifinals, and the Chancellor girls earned their way to the Class 4 state tournament with a 65-50 Region 4B semifinal victory over Hanover.
Courtland’s boys dropped a hard-fought, 53-50, contest at home against Dinwiddie in the 4B semis, and the Massaponax girls fell to Stone Bridge 47-42 in the 5D semis, preventing a second straight trip to the state tournament for the Panthers.
The Massaponax boys were paced by 17 points from Ben Myers and 14 from Dezzie Ainsworth, who recorded a steal and two free throws in the final seconds to seal the win and the Panthers’ second trip to the state tournament since 2020.
“It’s pretty incredible,” Panthers head coach Darren Berkley said. “We’ve got six sophomores and we’re only losing one starter. We’re young, but these kids are 100% bought in. It’s great to see the youth come together like that.”
Massaponax (20-5) will visit Potomac Falls (23-0) in the region title game Friday.
The Chargers’ victory over Hanover avenged a 44-43 defeat to the Hawks earlier this season, one of only two losses for Chancellor (24-2). The Chargers will host Monacan for the region championship Friday at 6:30 p.m.
Courtland coach Eric Davis said he is proud of the way his team battled in a tough loss to end its season. The Cougars (17-8) won the Battlefield District regular season title but were unable to return to the state tournament for the third time in the past six years.
Courtland was paced by Jaylen Brooks’ 17 points. Joshua Hartsfield added 12 points and 12 rebounds, while Roderick Magee contributed 10 points. Donald Williams played tough defense on Dinwiddie standout guard Jordan Clayton, holding him to 11 points.
“It was a hard-fought game,” Davis said. “We were back and forth. We came back several times, took the lead and just couldn’t hold on … The kids gave me everything tonight. I’m so proud of them.”
The Massaponax girls were led by senior Kyra Price’s 20 points. Senior standout guard Takeira Ramey, the Commonwealth District player of the year, finished with 15 points while battling an injury. Panthers head coach Ramon Hounshell estimated Ramey was “75%” healthy.
The Massaponax boys and the Chancellor girls will join the James Monroe boys in the state tournament. The Yellow Jackets visit Meridian Friday night at 7:30 p.m. in the Region 3B title game. Brooke Point’s boys will host Potomac in the Region 6B semifinals Thursday night at 6 p.m. for a chance to clinch a state bid.
