Keyser, W.Va. – Fittingly, following a pregame ceremony to honor Potomac State's four sophomore men's basketball players, all four sophomores posted solid performances to lead Potomac State College over Northern Virginia Community College, 123-90, Saturday afternoon at Lough Gymnasium in NJCAA Region XX men's basketball action.
Leading the way for the Catamounts Keon Lewis scored 22 points, hitting 10-18 field goals including two three-pointers. Fellow sophomores Breland Walton had 21 points, Jordan Davis 17 points and Cortney Walton 14 points, representing the Catamounts' four highest scorers.
The Nighthawks scored the first basket of the game and that 2-0 advantage would represent the only Northern Virginia lead of the game. After gaining an early 4-2 lead Potomac State would slowly extend the advantage until Cortney Walton hit a jumper at the 12:54 mark of the first half to force a double-digit lead at 26-16.
NOVA cut the lead to eight two times, the last at 7:15 mark. The Catamounts never looked back after that, forcing a 58-45 advantage at halftime.
In the second half the Catamount offense gained momentum and systemically increased the lead over the Northern Virginia. Their advantage expanded to 20 points, 83-63, on a Cortney Walton free throw at the 11:52 mark and to 30 points, 104-74, on a Breland Walton layup at the 5:27 juncture.
Every member of the Potomac State team would end up in the scoring column in route to the 123-90 win.
The Nighthawks were led by Tyland Crawford with 24 points and Cameron Stowe with 22 points.
Potomac State closes the regular season with a 17-8-1 record. They await the pairings for the NJCAA Region XX Tournament to be held March 6th thru March 8th at Howard Community College. The pairings are scheduled to be announced by 5 p.m. Sunday.