RICHMOND, Va. -- During the regular season, John Marshall showed they were the Class in Virginia in Class 2.
The Justices went undefeated against teams from the Commonwealth and they're only two losses were to national ranked teams Sierra Canyon from California and McEachern from Georgia.
John Marshall was even better in the postseason. They scored at least 75 points in all six games, including their 75-57 win over Gate City to win the Class 2 State Championship at the Siegel Center.
"I'm so proud of those young men and those coaches who worked extremely hard," John Marshall Head Coach Ty White expressed. "From the beginning of the year, we made sacrifices, countless sacrifices for this moment right now."
During their run in the playoffs, the Justices would jump out to big leads, winning their previous five games by an average of 40 points. However, Gate City stood toe to toe with John Marshall, behind Bradley Dean's 32 points. The Justices led only 37-36 at halftime.
"Initially they came out, they (Gate City) were well prepared, well coached and played hard," said Coach White. "Second half, our conditioning stepped up and we were ready for it."
To say John Marshall's conditioning stepped up would be an understatement. The Justices came out firing in the decisive third quarter, outscored Gate City 21-6 and held the Blue Devils to 18% from the field in that period.
"I'm proud of these seniors," explained Coach White. "Elijah and Raymont got a chance to finish it on the court. And this team persevered and received a championship tonight.
John Marshall's win would be the last high school basketball game played this season in Virginia after the VHSL decided earlier on Thursday to cancel the remaining State Finals due to the coronavirus outbreak.
"Those guys are a lot smarter than I am," said Coach White. "But I am thankful for us having the opportunity to play."
