Juan Thornhill scored nine points and contributed a key inbounds pass as Altavista defeated Radford, 49-44, in the 2014 VHSL 1A boys varsity basketball state championship. This was the second straight state title for the Altavista boys varsity basketball squad. For Thornhill and the three classmates who joined him at the postgame press conference table last Saturday, it was the third state championship in a year’s time. All four juniors – Thornhill, Meche Maulbeck, Darius Johnson and Demetrius Johnson – helped the Altavista varsity football squad to a state title last fall.

“When I was a freshman, I was hoping I would get one ring. But to know we’ve got three is awesome,” said Thornhill. “We have a great group of guys and we’ve played together since we were very little, since we were five or six years old.”

This latest title didn’t come easy. Radford captured the early momentum with a 5-0 run to start the game. The Colonels settled down, though, and eventually took a 19-18 lead into halftime. Led by the Johnson twins, who finished with 23 points in total, Altavista surged to a 39-30 lead in the third quarter. The Bobcats didn’t give up, though, and eventually pulled to within five heading into the fourth.

“We just kept on fighting, trying to win,” Thornhill said. “When Meche hit his 3 at halftime, I knew we would get the win. We are a second half team.”

...