Nationally ranked Petersburg is in the final four of the Virginia High School League Group AAA tournament for the second year in a row because of its talent. Hayfield, the Northern Region runner-up, challenged the Wave with a scrappy, quick-hands defense Friday night in a state quarterfinal at the Siegel Center. The Hawks forced the Wave into 21 turnovers and drew six offensive fouls, but the Hawks shot just 37 percent for the game.

The top area high school teams in the state tournament will face Northern Virginia high schools in quarterfinal play tonight and tomorrow night.

Radio: WGGM (820 AM), 8:30 Tickets : $8 at the door.  Projected starting lineups:
  HAYFIELD PETERSBURG
  Notable : The Hayfield Hawks (21-7) of Alexandria are the Northern Region runners-up. The Hawks are coached by Ronald Palmer, 71, who is in his second year. Before coming to Hayfield, he coached 25 years at Long Beach Polytechnic High in California where he went 609-150, won 19 district titles, eight region titles, one state title and one national title. The Poly gym is named after him. The Hawks are in the state quarterfinals for the first time since 2005, when they lost to Central champ L.C. Bird. Hayfield was in the state field in 2000, 2002 and 2004 as the Northern Region champion and in 2001 as the runner-up. The Hawks were the state runners-up in 2000. . . . The Petersburg Crimson Wave (29-0) is bidding to become the first Central Region boys team to go undefeated and win the state title since Moses Malone led the Wave to 50 consecutive victories and state titles in 1973 and 1974. The Wave is in the state tournament for the third year in a row. Petersburg last won the region crown in 1998. The winner advances to the semifinals Wednesday at the Siegel Center against the winner of the King’s Fork-George Washington (Danville) quarterfinal.

The Central Region basketball tournament championship games originally were scheduled to be played Monday. That meant Petersburg and John Marshall had either four or five days before play commenced in the Virginia High School League state tournament depending on which team won and lost. Then it snowed. The title games were played Wednesday night. Petersburg (29-0) won 68-58 and earned the right to play tonight against Northern Region runner-up Hayfield (21-7). Game time is 8:45 p.m. at the Siegel Center.

Chris Evans’ soaring dunk late in the first quarter brought the house down. Travis McKie’s thunder jam just before the first-half buzzer raised the roof. From the start of last night’s Central Region tournament final at the Siegel Center, Petersburg and John Marshall kept the overflow crowd estimated at 8,500 entertained and in the game.

Chris Evans’ soaring dunk late in the first quarter brought the house down. Travis McKie’s thunder jam just before the first-half buzzer raised the roof. From the start of Wednesday night’s Central Region tournament final at the Siegel Center, Petersburg and John Marshall kept the overflow crowd estimated at 8,500 entertained and in the game.

The rematch is upon us. Reigning Central Region champion John Marshall and last year’s runner-up, Petersburg, tangle Monday night at 7:45 at the Siegel Center. After undefeated and nationally ranked Petersburg defeated Henrico in the first semifinal last night, John Marshall, No. 2 in The Times-Dispatch Top 10, earned the opportunity to defend its title with a 74-68 victory over third-ranked Highland Springs before a capacity (7,500) crowd at the Siegel Center.

Petersburg senior Drejon Scott Drejon Scott doesn’t wear a badge or read you your rights, but the Petersburg High School guard keeps people honest, nonetheless. With his faraway marksmanship, Scott makes it dicey for defenses to drape a collapsing blanket on the Crimson Wave’s bouncy skyline of 6-9 Cadarian Raines and 6-6 Chris Evans.

PETERSBURG - The Petersburg boys basketball team heard the talk that No. 5 Douglas Freeman was capable of eliminating the Wave from the ranks of the unbeaten and the Central Region tournament.

Watch scenes from the girls basketball game.

Cadarian Raines scored 20 points and Chris Evans 16 to lead the top-ranked Crimson Wave to a first-round victory over the visiting Rapids. Frank Mason contributed 12 points to the effort, all on 3-point shots. The Wave led 36-22 at halftime and built its lead to 23 points through three quarters. Grant Deichman paced the Rapids with 25 points.

BOYSW-LPrev.
1. Petersburg20-0No. 1
2. John Marshall18-3No. 5
3. Highland Springs18-2No. 3
4. Douglas Freeman17-3No. 2
5. Huguenot16-3No. 7
6. L.C. Bird17-2No. 4
7. Benedictine14-8No. 6
8. Meadowbrook13-6No. 10
9. Ches. Community14-4No. 9
10. Hopewell13-7No. 8
  GIRLSW-LPrev.
1. Cosby19-1No. 1

Coming through the regular-season and Central District tournament undefeated is a fine statistic for which the Petersburg Crimson Wave can be proud. The glowing 25-0 mark means nothing now. The Central Region boys basketball tournament starts tonight. “Everybody’s zero and zero,“ Petersburg coach Bill Lawson Jr. said. “If you lose now, you go home. We are working on the present and the future.“

The tidal Wave continues. Petersburg, ranked No. 1 in The Times-Dispatch Top 10 and in The Associated Press state poll, finished a sweep of Central District foes with a 75-46 victory last night in the final of the district tournament. Playing before a packed house of 2,500 in William Lawson Jr. Gym, the Wave won its 25th consecutive game this season. Petersburg has been 25-0 at other times in its storied history. The 1973 and 1974 teams, led by Moses Malone, finished 25-0 and won state championships.

Cadarian Raines put up 21 points, 17 rebounds and five blocks as the top-ranked Crimson Wave slipped past Thomas Dale. Chris Evans had 15 points and eight rebounds, and Kevin Green scored 12 points for Petersburg. Malcolm King led the Knights with 20 points, followed by Myles Turner (13), Michael Simms (12) and Andrew White (10). THOMAS DALE (14-8)