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(A gallery of photos by Frank A. Davis follows the story below.)

The varsity boys basketball teams for Southampton High School and Franklin High School produced winning records in the 2024-25 regular season and entered the week of Feb. 16 poised for tournament play.

The Indians improved to 17-4 overall and 11-3 in the Tri-Rivers District with a 62-60 victory over visiting Brunswick High School on Saturday, Feb. 15, according to MaxPreps.com.

The Broncos struggled to string together wins early in the season but came on strong late in the year, winning their last six games to finish 12-11 overall and 10-4 in the district.

“I was extremely proud of our growth throughout the season,” Franklin Head Coach Robby Cutchins said. “After coming off of back-to-back district championships and losing a couple of all-region players and an all-state player, we looked for other guys to step up this year. I front-loaded the schedule with extremely tough opponents based in bigger divisions to try and prepare us for the district run and, most importantly, into the postseason.”

He noted that the Broncos, a team playing at the Virginia High School League Class 1 level, started the season with games against Class 3 Lakeland High School, Class 4 Smithfield High School, Class 6 Grassfield High School and Class 5 Indian River High School.

“These were all heavyweight opponents for us,” he said. “But it was a time for us to work, get better and find out exactly who we were and (who we) were going to be throughout the season. It paid dividends as the season went on, helping us win 10 district basketball games along with reeling off six straight wins to end the season. 

“Two of those wins were back-to-back against Brunswick, who, at the time, was the No. 1 team in our region,” he added.

Franklin defeated Brunswick 68-50 at home on Jan. 27 and then 44-42 on the road on Jan. 29.

“So huge progression throughout the season for this group as we have set ourselves up for the postseason,” Cutchins said.

He noted that he and his team set goals every year that include, first and foremost, qualification for the regional tournament, which the Broncos have achieved for 11 straight seasons now.

“As the season progressed we went from wanting to qualify for the regional tournament to working hard to try and seal up a top-four seed in the region, which would solidify a home regional playoff game for us, which we haven’t had in two years,” he said. 

Franklin achieved this goal, locking up a No. 3 seed for the regional tournament, the coach said. 

“Having a home game in the region is huge, and I’m so proud of what these boys have done this season,” Cutchins said. “We look forward for the opportunity to compete in the regional tournament, and the spot we have earned is a good one!” 

He noted Sunday, Feb. 16, that the Broncos’ opponent was to be determined because some teams still had one or two regular season games left to play.

Southampton’s schedule on the district website showed it was set to visit Brunswick in tournament play on Tuesday, Feb. 18, at 7 p.m.

Windsor High School finished the regular season with an overall record of 4-17, going 4-10 in the district, according to the Tri-Rivers website. 

Southampton Academy holds a 9-12 overall record, including a 4-7 mark in the Virginia Colonial Conference, according to MaxPreps. The Raiders visit Blessed Sacrament Huguenot Catholic School on Tuesday, Feb. 18, at 6:30 p.m.

Isle of Wight Academy holds a 4-12 overall record entering its regular season finale Thursday, Feb. 20, according to MaxPreps. The Chargers will host Veritas School at 7 p.m.