Wednesday, February 15th
The top seeds in the Patriot all held, somewhat surprisingly. It wasn’t easy, though. Maybe the most disappointing team around the region this year turned out to be Annandale. They finished last in the Patriot last year but figured to do better this year returning most of their players and with a lot of top players lost around the conference. The Atoms disappointed, however, again finishing last. But last night they pushed top-seeded West Potomac to the limit, losing to the Wolverines on a last-second three-pointer by Khalil Williams Diggins. Kudos to the Atoms for fighting to the very end and giving a huge scare to our sixth-ranked team in the region, the Wolverines. If they had lost one of the best public school teams in the area would have missed regionals.
Like…South Lakes. The Seahawks again were upset by the Fairfax Rebels, for the second time in three weeks, 64-46. As a result a team that spent virtually the whole year in our Nova Nineteen rankings will not get to compete at 6A regionals. It was an absolutely heart-breaking loss for the Seahawks, who couldn’t hit from outside against Fairfax’s zone and missed a ton of free throws. But hey, that’s playoff basketball. A lot of teams that weren’t dangerous a couple months ago are now. Hats off to the Rebels for pulling the major upset–they were the only team to win on the road last night–out of 24 games.
The Liberty semis continue at South Lakes (to the pain of the Seahawks) tonight. Hayfield takes on Langley and Fairfax battles Madison. The Patriot semis continue at SoCo, with South County getting to host West Potomac and Lake Braddock tangling with Woodson. That last game should be really fun. Braddock plays a brand of Paul Westhead-esque ball and were the last team to defeat the Cavaliers, who are well-equipped guard-wise to play up-tempo if need be.
Conference 8, 13 and 14 semis are also tonight. Tuscarora gets another crack at Potomac Falls, who is playing as well as anybody. Stone Bridge at Broad Run could go either way. Osbourn and Battlefield host games and will play again this week should they both win. Marshall and Wakefield are the strong favorites to advance to their conference final but it’s not out of the realm of possibility Edison and Jefferson, respectively could give them games. Congrats to TJ, by the way, which hosted its first home playoff game in 20 years yesterday, and won. Wow.
Also, congrats to Centreville and Chantilly, who advanced to the Concorde final by edging Herndon and Robinson. Can’t say enough about the job Kevin Harris has done at Centreville.
Tuesday, February 14th
Big night tonight. Be sure and check the schedule for a complete list of tournament games.
Last night Osbourn stunned Battlefield 73-50 behind a career-high 39 from Anthony Pearson to grab the #1 seed in the Conference 8 Tournament. Battlefield is in a little bit of a tailspin, having lost four of five. The Bobcats will host Stonewall Jackson on Wednesday, while Osbourn will host Patriot. The Pioneers defeated Osbourn Park last night to advance and clinch a spot at regionals.
Tonight the focus is on the Patriot. Last year the conference was a non-stop battle where anyone could beat anyone on a given night. This year West Potomac and Woodson have been more dominant, but the league is still unbelievably deep. Annandale had a disappointing season punctuated by a crazy season finale loss last week, but they’re as talented as an #8 seed as you’ll ever see. #2 seed Woodson has won its last five conference games–but by a total of only 12 points.
Concorde and Conference semis are tonight, and George Mason and Potomac go for conference crowns.
Friday, February 10th
Here we go. Conference tourneys kick off Friday, with 6A Conference 5 perhaps the most noteworthy. That isn’t it, though. 4A 21A and 21B get going, although 21B’s #1 seed has yet to be determined. That will happen when Heritage meets Loudoun Valley at a neutral site (Rock Ridge) Friday night. Meanwhile that conference’s #3 through #6 seeds will play in the first round. And let’s not forget Potomac, which opens up its postseason hosting Massaponax.
Obviously the stakes are high in these tourneys where four teams make the regional tournament. In the old Concorde (Conference 5) that means Friday night’s games of Oakton at Robinson and Herndon at Westfield are essentially elimination games. What is fascinating about the tourney is that any team could get hot and win it. Oakton finished last in the conference, but they spent half the year in our Nova Nineteen rankings and are more than capable of pulling multiple upsets.
“I think Centreville is the favorite for sure but I think they are beatable and there are several teams that could make a run over the course of the next week,” Robinson coach Travis Hess said.
We agree. Herndon has Liam Harrington and Michael Griffin, one of the area’s more dynamic scoring pairs. Westfield is the defending 6A state champion who lost a ton off that team, but has been slowly improving this year and have a winning mentality. Robinson can play defense, has senior forward Tyler Jones back, and probably has the conference’s best offensive post player in Anthony Douglas. And Oakton has one of the area’s best shooters in Braeden Johnson and wins over solid teams like Potomac Falls, Madison, Woodbridge, Chantilly.
“Oakton is much better than its conference record indicates,” said Hess, whose team must defeat the Cougars to advance to regionals. “They have played a lot of close games and are well-coached. We have to contain Johnson and keep [Jacob] Posz off the glass. If we can do those two things, we should be in good shape.”
We’ll see what happens. Chantilly and Centreville await Friday’s winners. The list of tournament action Friday:
Conference 5 Tournament
#6 Oakton 62 at #3 Robinson 70
#5 Herndon 58 at #4 Westfield 50
Conference 15 Tournament
#4 Massaponax 50 at #1 Potomac 54
Conference 21A Tournament
#5 Harrisonburg 64 at #4 Woodgrove 39
Conference 21B Tournament
#5 Loudoun County 76 at #4 Dominion 67
#6 Park View 26 at #3 Rock Ridge 73
Conference 28 Tournament
#5 Manassas Park 36 at #4 Riverside 64
#6 Brentsville District 62 at #3 Culpeper 74