Gators fall in regular-season finale
VPCC earns No.3 seed in region tournament.
The Gators (13-8, 4-4 Region 10) split two Region 10 games last week to earn the third seed in the postseason tournament.
VPCC's regular season ended with a 71-59 loss to Patrick & Henry Community College on Feb. 15 at SafeHaven Empowerment Center. Sincere Moore (Matoaca High School/Chesterfield) had 19 points for the Gators. Kevin Johnson (Nansemond River/Suffolk) added 11.
In a low-scoring start, P&H was scoreless the first 4:28. VPCC led 14-10 with about 11 minutes left in the first half and stretched the lead to 24-15 with 6:50 remaining. The visiting Patriots, who earned the No.2 seed in the region tournament, closed to 32-28 at the half.
The Gators fell behind 39-38 about four minutes into the second half. The game was tied at 48 with 10:18 before P&H pulled away, going on a 15-4 run for a 63-52 lead with about three minutes remaining.
On Feb. 12, the Gators defeated Paul D. Camp Community College 77-67 at SafeHaven. Again. Moore was the Gators' leading scorer, with 19 points. Jayden Sepulveda (Landstown/Virginia Beach) and Jakobe Reed (Woodside/Hampton) each had 12, and D'Cameron Haynes (Munford/Memphis, Tenn.) 11.
Camp scored the game's first seven points, but the Gators took their first lead at 19-18 and stretched it to 23-18. However, they trailed 33-31 at the break.
The Gators went back ahead 36-35 early in the second half, and never trailed after that, although the game was tied a few times. A 3-pointer by Sepulveda gave VPCC a 56-45 lead with about 11 minutes to go. The Gators led 64-49 with 7 ½ left and kept a double-digit lead for much of the remainder of the game.
The Region 10 tournament starts Feb. 21 at Patrick & Henry with No.5 seed Oxford College of Emory University playing No. 4 Camp. The Gators have a rematch with Patrick & Henry at 3:30 p.m. Feb. 22. The championship game is Feb. 23 at 3 p.m., with the winning team earning an automatic bid to the NJCAA national tournament.