WAKEFIELD—Two Warrior teams battled Tuesday night to advance to the semifinals of the Virginia Commonwealth Conference tournament.

When the dust cleared, it was the Warriors of Tidewater Academy who defeated the Warriors of Richmond Christian 62-50. No. 2 seeded Tidewater at 8:15 p.m. Friday, Feb. 25, will play No. 3 seeded Amelia at Richard Bland College in Petersburg in the semifinals.

In the first quarter, both teams came out running in a fast-paced 8 minutes of play. After being tied at 5-all early in the game, Tidewater connected on two 3-pointers by Martin Hellyer and Dale Richmond to put them ahead 16-11 at the end of the quarter.

The 3-pointers continued in the second quarter. Tidewater senior Ferley Yerby dropped two, back-to-back 3-pointers and junior Lamont Moore connected for one at the buzzer to give the home team a 31-20 lead at the half.

In the second half, Tidewater held the lead the entire time; at one point, the Warriors were up by 15 points.

Although they were not threatened by Richmond Christian, Tidewater Academy Head Coach Walter Westbrook was not pleased with his team’s defense and added that his team has trouble with 3-point shooting teams. Richmond Christian is well-known for this shooting ability. They found the range for four, 3-pointers in the first half and six in the second half.

The Warriors were led by senior Mike Greene with 22 points, Moore with 14, Hellyer with 11 points and Yerby with 10 points.

Richmond Christian’s David Jenkins and Otis Williams both scored 14 apiece.