The Loudoun County Boys Basketball team began the fourth quarter with a 12-2 run to help secure a 61-52 victory over Broad Run, and advance to the Dulles District Championship.
The Spartans had only trailed 41-39 heading into the fourth quarter of Wednesday night’s tournament semifinal, but Loudoun County Head Coach Mark Alexander told his team to stick to their roots heading into the final period.
“I told them to trust what we do,” Coach Alexander said. “We’ve been in this position before. I told them to trust their stuff and try to be as patient as they can, and they did. Eventually some shots went down. We (always) seem to find a guy that steps up in different situations, and Joey Fitzpatrick was that guy tonight. He stepped up really big.”
Fitzpatrick, a junior, took charge of the game at the start of the fourth quarter as he accounted for 10 of the Raiders’ 12 points in their big run, and dished an assist on the other basket. He’d finish the night leading the Captains with 22 points and six rebounds. Senior guard Arnav Thornhill led the Spartans with 17 points and five rebounds.
Broad Run got off to an early first quarter lead thanks to early Jaylan Alvarez back-to-back floaters in the lane. But the Captains eventually found their rhythm with three consecutive three-pointers from senior guard Brendan Boyers, Fitzpatrick, and junior guard Jack West.
The score was tied as the first quarter was coming to an end, but junior guard Braxton Griffin heaved a shot from half court that swished through the net and barely beat the buzzer, giving the Captains a 14-12 lead.
Loudoun County (19-5) gained some separation early in the second quarter with a 6-0 run, but the Spartans (12-11) were able to close the gap thanks to dynamic passing from Thornhill, and they would take the lead at 21-20 with six minutes remaining in the half. The Captains gained a slight edge at the end of the quarter as they continued to find holes in Broad Run’s man defense. Loudoun County would enter the half with a 28-25 lead.
“Arnav (Thornhill) is pretty explosive, so we tried to get fresh legs on him,” Coach Alexander said. “I thought Jack West did a pretty (good) job (on defense), and he wanted it – he said yeah, I’ll guard him.”
The Captains maintained their lead for most of the 3rd quarter, but Broad Run produced a late 9-0 run that tied the game at 39 with two minutes remaining. Boyers drew a foul and sank both of the free-throws, which would give Loudoun County a 41-39 lead heading into the final quarter.
The Spartans momentum was shut off completely when the Captains started the fourth quarter on the 12-2 run. Loudoun County sealed the game by sinking 8 of its final 10 free-throws, to clinch a spot in the Dulles District Title Game. Although the team was excited to advance to the championship, it was also their season-long expectation.
“It feels great, but it feels like these guys expected it,” Coach Alexander said. “I went in the locker room and it was dead quiet. They’re thinking about the next game, they’re pretty professional. I’ve had teams that jump around and celebrate wins, but these guys are like – this is what we do. They’re take care of business-type kids. I think when the year started we had this expectation.”
Loudoun County will now host Loudoun Valley in the Dulles District Championship on Friday, February 18th at 6pm. The Captains lost to the Vikings 67-62 in January, but they evened the matchup with a 53-37 win on February 1st.
“Valley is the team we’ve been battling with for the last few years,” Coach Alexander said. “We have to execute and make shots. I’m sure they’re going to try to disrupt that, and they’re very good. It should be a good game.”
–TJ Davis
@Ttown314