Gainesville made it look easy in the first half against Osbourn Wednesday night, using a three-point shooting barrage to take a 45-28 lead by the break. The host Eagles made it much harder on Gainesville in the second half, but Justin Powers’ young team weathered the storm to remain undefeated on the year with a 72-65 victory.
The win kept the good times rolling for Gainesville (3-0, 7-0), a program in only its second year of existence.
“I think we’re gaining confidence with each game,” Powers said. “I think we’re knocking down shots, some nights we’re winning because we’re shooting really well. On Monday we played really good defense where we locked up Champe. Every night it’s been something different.”
In the first half it was definitely Gainesville knocking down shots that stood out. The Cardinals were 10-14 from three-point range before halftime. 6’5″ junior Grant Polk, one of the best shooters in the area, hit a few. Sophomore Lukas Parks hit three off the bench. Even Trevor Moody, a dynamic junior guard known more for his ability to attack the rim, got into the act.
We have a couple of really good shooters,” Powers said. “Trevor is really good at getting to the basket but he hit a few threes tonight and that was really big because teams play him to drive. If he can make that shot it changes the game.”
Osbourn was down 17 at halftime, but was hardly ready to tap out. The Eagles started to bully their way to the rim and get to the line in the second half. Star junior guard Tey Barbour, who had scored 11 first quarter points, started to get hot again late. During one stretch in the fourth quarter Barbour scored 10 straight points for his team, getting the Eagles to within 68-63 with just over a minute left on a steal and breakaway dunk.
Barbour was sensational, but it seemed like every time he scored Gainesville answered right back. Cardinals starter Sean Panjsheeri, one of three seniors on the team, hadn’t scored through three quarters but had two key buckets late. The Cardinals were able to handle the home team’s pressure, which was buoyed by an Eagles crowd that got louder and louder as Osbourn rallied.
Coach Powers said continuing to handle pressure will be one key to challenging in the Cedar Run District this year.
“We’re young, we have three seniors, but really the core is sophomores and juniors,” he said. “Handling pressure and responding to runs…and continuing to play defense. I think those are the main things that we need to do.”
If it takes the entire team to ensure Gainesville continues its success, the Cardinals seem on firm ground. On Wednesday all 10 Cardinals that played registered assists. There were solid performances all around. Polk led with 22 points and had 13 rebounds. Moody finished with 16 points and worked hard defending Barbour. Junior guard Noah Arterbery had 13 points and five assists. The bench had almost a quarter of the team’s total scoring output.
It was definitely a team win and a night to enjoy remaining undefeated. Polk is well aware the Cardinals have lots more work to do if they want to play with the district’s top teams like Patriot and Battlefield, however.
“We’re a really good shooting team,” he said. “But still got to work on our help-side defense a lot…don’t allow teams easy buckets, get to the corner for three-point shots.”
Barbour, one of Northern Virginia’s most sought-after basketball prospects, finished with 32 points for the Eagles (1-2, 3-4). Junior guard Tavyahn Faison added 12 points and four assists, while junior forward Branden Ahlers had 10 points despite foul trouble.
–Chris Jollay
all stats are unofficial
| GAINESVILLE | FG | FT | TP | REB | AST | |
| ARTERBERY | 5-8 | 0-1 | 13 | 3 | 5 | |
| PANJSHEERI | 2-5 | 0-0 | 4 | 0 | 1 | |
| MOODY | 7-14 | 0-1 | 16 | 3 | 3 | |
| POLK | 7-12 | 3-4 | 22 | 13 | 3 | |
| DAVIDSON | 0-1 | 0-0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | |
| Parks | 3-3 | 0-1 | 9 | 1 | 1 | |
| McCall | 1-3 | 0-0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | |
| Barnett | 0-1 | 0-0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | |
| Itayem | 0-0 | 0-2 | 0 | 1 | 2 | |
| White | 2-3 | 2-2 | 6 | 3 | 1 | |
| TOTALS | 27-50 | 5-11 | 72 | 27 | 20 | |
| Threes: Polk 5-8, Arterbery 3-3, Parks 3-3, Moody 2-5, Panjsheeri 0-3 | ||||||
| OSBOURN | FG | FT | TP | REB | AST | |
| TERRELL | 1-5 | 2-2 | 4 | 1 | 3 | |
| FAISON | 5-12 | 2-3 | 12 | 5 | 4 | |
| BOXLEY | 1-3 | 1-2 | 3 | 3 | 0 | |
| AHLERS | 4-7 | 1-2 | 10 | 4 | 0 | |
| BARBOUR | 12-21 | 5-7 | 32 | 6 | 2 | |
| Al-Akhras | 0-2 | 1-2 | 1 | 6 | 0 | |
| Everson-Claggett | 0-3 | 2-2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | |
| Taha | 0-0 | 1-4 | 1 | 2 | 0 | |
| Weeks | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| TOTALS | 23-53 | 15-24 | 65 | 27 | 9 | |
| Threes: Barbour 3-8, Ahlers 1-3, Terrell 0-1, Faison 0-1, Al-Akhras 0-1 | ||||||