RICHLANDS, Va. — Grundy controlled the tempo, for the most part. Dan River controlled most everything else.

The defending VHSL 2A champs earned a return trip to the state tournament, pulling away in the second half to a 57-34 win over the Golden Wave in the Region 2A West semifinals Wednesday night at Richlands Middle School.

It was still just a one-point game until Jo Jo Reynolds and Devin Stone hit back-to-back 3-pointers in the final 35 seconds of the first half. It gave Dan River a 23-16 halftime advantage and it caused a huge momentum shift that never changed.

Grundy (17-12) slowed the tempo down and Dan River (22-3) was patient and content to play at that pace, at least for a half.

In the second half the Wildcats relied on a quick and active halfcourt man-to-man defense to smother Golden Wave shooters and slowly, but surely build on their lead.

Dan River ended the third quarter on an extended 12-3 run and opened the fourth with a 10-2 spurt to push the margin to 47-23.

“Our halfcourt defense (was the difference),” Dan River coach Kenneth Murphy said. “Getting some stops, making them earn everything and contesting every shot, making sure they weren’t getting any open threes.”

Reynolds tossed in a game-high 17 points and Virginia Tech football recruit Tremaine Edmunds scored 13 to lead Dan River, which advances both to tonight’s regional finals as well as a berth in the 2A state semifinals Monday in Richmond.

Sophomore Christian Jackson was the lone double figure scorer for Grundy with 13 points. The Golden Wave seemed to be as shaken by the late first half run as it was by the Dan River defense.

“The last, probably 25 seconds of the first half was a really big momentum swing for them and that was the last thing I wanted to happen going in,” Grundy coach Brian Moore said. “It kind of took a little bit of wind out of our sails.

“We came in in the second half down seven and they created a few turnovers there in the third quarter and I knew then we were facing an uphill battle from that point on.”

Dan River held Grundy star Charles McCoy to nine points, shadowing the 6-foot-3 senior with a help defender inside and out. The Wildcats also kept the other Golden. Wave shooters well-covered.

“We knew they could shoot and the McCoy kid, we just seemed to do a good job of getting out on him,” added Murphy.

Grundy turned the ball over 22 times and after a so-so effort from the field in the first half, had even more trouble finding the range in the second half. The Wave missed 12 of its first 13 shot attempts and shot just 19.3 percent (5-of-26) overall after the break.

One of three senior starters for Grundy, McCoy did haul in 14 rebounds in his final game.

“We had a little bit of momentum going in the first half,” he lamented. “But we just lost it and never got it back.”

Moore credited Dan River’s defense and his team’s shot selection in the second half.

“We couldn’t hit anything, but a lot of that had to do with their size advantage, contesting a lot of shots,” added Moore, whose club finished one win shy of the school record of 18 wins and one victory short of its first state tournament berth since 1999.

“And our kids, I think we were a little uncomfortable shooting out there, but our shot selection wasn’t great either in the third quarter. But hats off to (Dan River) they’ve got a very athletic team.”

At Richlands Middle School

GRUNDY (17-12)

Duty 1 2-4 4, C. McCoy 3 1-2 9, J. McCoy 1 1-2 3, Jackson 5 2-2 13, B. Dillow 0 5-8 5, Wolford 0 0-0 0, Cleek 0 0-0 0, Blankenship 0 0-0 0, E. Dillow 0 0-0 0. Totals 10 11-18 34.

DAN RIVER (22-3)

Edmunds 5 3-6 13, Stephens 1 3-6 5, Culley 0 0-0 0, Harris 5 0-3 10, Terry 0 0-2 0, Stone 3 1-2 8, Whittle 0 0-0 0, Reynolds 6 3-6 17, Cassady 1 1-2 3, Thaxton 0 1-2 1, Doss 0 0-0 0, Durant 0 0-0 0, Eubanks 0 0-0 0. Totals 21 12-29 57.

Grundy..........................5 11 5 13 — 34

Dan River.....................10 13 14 20 — 57

3-point goals - G 3 (C.McCoy 2, Jackson), DR 3 (Reynolds 2, Stone).Total fouls – G 21, DR 14. Fouled out - B. Dillow.Technicals - none.