Tuesday night at Lake Braddock the Bruins got four third quarter three-pointers from junior guard Brook Anteneh to pull away from Oakton and win their annual holiday tournament, 58-38.
Anteneh’s offensive outburst was key in an initially low-scoring game that saw the Bruins (8-2) up 22-18 at half.
“I was just trying to shoot, get the ball and shoot it,” said Anteneh, who finished with six three-pointers for 18 points. “In the beginning it wasn’t going down but I didn’t let that get to my head and I kept shooting and shooting.”
Anteneh’s barrage helped to open up Lake Braddock star senior forward Nate McComb as well. In the first half the Oakton defense, especially junior forward Deylen Jones, did a great job limiting him. In the first half McComb had five points on 2-8 shooting from the field. In the second half, however, McComb scored 13 points off 5-6 shooting from the field.
Lake Braddock led 41-26 after the third quarter and Oakton couldn’t force enough turnovers to catch up. The Bruins were able to spread the floor and when Oakton tried to trap, attack the rim and clinch the title.
The Lake Braddock defense did a great job throughout the game. The Cougars (8-2) shot less than 33% from the field in the contest. Known as a dangerous three-point shooting team, Oakton did hit six three-pointers, but that came on 20 attempts as Lake Braddock was fairly effective defending the perimeter.
McComb finished with 14 rebounds, four blocks, and four assists. Riley Pedersen added 11 points, seven boards, and four assists, and fellow senior Walker Mitchell also had four assists. The Bruins moved the ball efficiently in general, totaling 15 assists on 22 field goals.
For Oakton, point guard Jack Jones had a good game with 16 points and fellow senior James Burke added 14.
–Chris Jollay