On Thursday night Margad Choijilsuren hit two big shots to rally his team toward the end of regulation, and Fairfax came out strong in overtime to get a road win over West Potomac, 51-49.
After West Potomac’s Nygel Anderson hit a pair of free throws with under two minutes left, the Lions trailed 42-37. That might not sound like a significant lead, but it was about as big a deficit as either team had faced all night in a defensive battle between the two Patriot District rivals.
Choijilsuren first buried a long jumper just inside the arc to get his team to 42-39. Then, after a missed Wolverines free throw, he received a pass on the wing and calmly drained a three-pointer with 27.4 seconds left. West Potomac had a chance to win it in regulation, but Aidan Barr just missed a three-pointer with a few seconds left.
Fairfax had the momentum, capitalizing right away in overtime with some crisp passing to cut through the Wolverines’ defensive pressure. First Xavier McCrary found Choijilsuren on a pass for a bucket at the rim. After a forced turnover, Fairfax senior Tony Rojas found sophomore Ronnie Peters open for a basket. A Donovan Bass-Briscoe free throw reduced the Fairfax lead to three, but the Lions got through West Potomac’s press with a long pass from McCrary to fellow senior Kaden Horner for an easy layup.
A few minutes later, McCrary got his third assist in overtime when he again delivered a long pass to Horner for a score. Bass-Briscoe was fouled on a three-pointer with 8.3 seconds left, hitting two of three free throws to make it 51-49 Fairfax. But McCrary gathered the defensive rebound on the third foul shot, and West Potomac was unable to foul for several seconds. The Wolverines got a last, desperation heave at the rim after Fairfax missed at the charity stripe, but it was awry.
Choijilsuren’s teammates stepped up in overtime, but the Lions (6-1, 11-1) wouldn’t have even gotten to that point without Choijilsuren’s contributions. The 6’4″ junior buried four threes on the evening and finished with 25 points. McCrary had a great all-around game with 10 points, eight rebounds, and four assists, while Horner added seven points.
West Potomac (2-4, 5-5) has had trouble this season pulling out close games against very good competition. Of the Wolverines’ five losses, four were by six points or less.
Anderson led the balanced Wolverine attack with 11 points, while Bass-Briscoe added nine.
all stats are unofficial
| WEST POTOMAC | FG | FT | TP | REB | AST | |
| WALTERS | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| ST. BERNARD | 1-1 | 1-2 | 3 | 1 | 0 | |
| JOACHIM | 3-7 | 0-0 | 6 | 0 | 0 | |
| NEAL | 2-5 | 1-3 | 5 | 4 | 2 | |
| BASS-BRISCOE | 2-6 | 3-7 | 9 | 5 | 2 | |
| Anderson | 4-9 | 3-4 | 11 | 6 | 0 | |
| Barr | 3-5 | 0-0 | 7 | 5 | 1 | |
| Cianciolo | 1-4 | 0-0 | 3 | 1 | 1 | |
| Nkrumah | 1-5 | 3-4 | 5 | 2 | 1 | |
| TOTALS | 17-42 | 11-20 | 49 | 24 | 7 | |
| Threes: Bass-Briscoe 2-4, Barr 1-3, Cianciolo 1-4, Nkrumah 0-2, Anderson 0-3 | ||||||
| FAIRFAX | FG | FT | TP | REB | AST | |
| ROJAS | 2-2 | 0-0 | 4 | 6 | 2 | |
| ACKERMAN | 1-2 | 0-1 | 3 | 1 | 3 | |
| CHOI JILSUREN | 9-18 | 3-8 | 25 | 7 | 1 | |
| MCCRARY | 2-7 | 5-8 | 10 | 8 | 4 | |
| HORNER | 3-7 | 0-0 | 7 | 0 | 2 | |
| Peters | 1-1 | 0-1 | 2 | 4 | 2 | |
| Smith | 0-1 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| TOTALS | 18-38 | 8-18 | 51 | 26 | 14 | |
| Threes: Choijilsuren 4-6, Ackerman 1-2, McCrary 1-2, Horner 1-4, Smith 0-1 | ||||||