It’s pretty scary when an offense can be both up-tempo and efficient. After a slow start Tuesday night against #12 West Potomac, the #15 Edison Eagles definitely demonstrated how scary their offense can be.
Guard Jared Clawson scored 26 points and fellow senior Gabriel Casillas Cruz added 23 points and 10 rebounds to lead the host Eagles to a 74-58 home victory over the Wolverines. Edison shot over 55% from the field and buried ten three-pointers, six from Casillas Cruz.
West Potomac (2-2) raced to an early 8-0 lead but after that Edison coach Terry Henderson’s team started warming up, taking a two-point lead by the end of the quarter and holding that lead going into the half. Then in the second half the Eagles started firing on all cylinders.
“West Potomac’s a great team so we wanted to make sure we got good shots every time down the floor. We wanted to make sure we found their shooters on defense and in transition,” Henderson said. “We also wanted to make sure our energy was high. I thought when we lost to Hayfield last game we came out flat and we let them set the tone.”
The energy was certainly high after halftime. West Potomac had some success inside, especially with senior forward Colby Dessaure (20 points, 11 rebounds). But the Wolverines’ shooters never really did too much damage, going a combined 2-18 from beyond the arc.
Edison (5-1) on the other hand, did a ton of damage from long-range. Casillas Cruz’s performance was made all the remarkable from the fact that he is still feeling the after-effects of the flu.
“He’s so active–lanky and long and just a tough matchup,” Henderson said of Casillas Cruz. “He’s struggling, couldn’t even practice last night, but still came and watched.”
Casillas Cruz was a monster on the boards in the second half. His teammate Clawson was just almost impossible to stop. The four-year starter picked his spots to do his damage, often at key junctures. His three-pointer at the end of the first quarter gave his team the lead. With Edison only up 44-38 in the third he found Casillas Cruz for a three after drawing the defense to him. A possession later Clawson scored on a run-out, and his team never looked back.
It was a satisfying win for Edison against a talented nearby rival.
“We just wanted to have some fun,” Henderson said. “These neighborhood games can get a little tricky.”
–Chris Jollay
all stats are unofficial
| EDISON | FG | FT | TP | REB | AST | |
| CARPENTER | 1-2 | 2-2 | 4 | 4 | 1 | |
| CASILLAS CRUZ | 6-10 | 5-6 | 23 | 10 | 2 | |
| IGNACIO | 4-10 | 1-2 | 11 | 2 | 4 | |
| STAPLES | 2-5 | 0-0 | 4 | 2 | 4 | |
| CLAWSON | 8-12 | 8-9 | 26 | 5 | 2 | |
| Jones | 1-1 | 0-1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | |
| Rogers | 2-2 | 0-1 | 4 | 2 | 0 | |
| Hughes | 0-0 | 1-2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Cresent | 0-1 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| TOTALS | 24-43 | 17-23 | 74 | 25 | 13 | |
| Threes: Casillas Cruz 6-10, Clawson 2-4, Ignacio 2-7, Staples 0-1 | ||||||
| WEST POTOMAC | FG | FT | TP | REB | AST | |
| PAYNE | 5-14 | 1-1 | 13 | 8 | 3 | |
| HARDEN | 0-4 | 1-2 | 1 | 3 | 5 | |
| DOHERTY | 0-3 | 4-4 | 4 | 2 | 3 | |
| FRICKA | 3-13 | 6-7 | 12 | 3 | 2 | |
| DESSAURE | 8-17 | 4-7 | 20 | 11 | 0 | |
| Barr | 3-4 | 0-0 | 6 | 2 | 0 | |
| Mayo | 1-4 | 0-0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | |
| Abdi | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | |
| Hernandez | 0-1 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Cooper | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| TOTALS | 20-60 | 16-21 | 58 | 30 | 13 | |
| Threes: Payne 2-8, Dessaure 0-1, Hernandez 0-1, Doherty 0-2, Harden 0-3, Mayo 0-3 | ||||||