Friday night in the George Long Tournament at Wakefield, Potomac held South County to six points in the first quarter, building a lead that grew to double digits. When the Panthers relinquished that lead and it became a one-possession lead late, it was their defense that saved them.
With 4.8 seconds left down one South County had the ball, but Potomac junior guard Harlem Lyons drew an offensive foul, and Potomac held on for a 57-54 victory. Thanks to Lyons’ clutch defense, the Panthers advance to Saturday’s Championship Game versus undefeated Oscar Smith at 6:15 pm.
Harlem Lyons draws the offensive foul late for Potomac as @PotomacBlue hangs on for the 57-54 victory… pic.twitter.com/ixeXYrC29U
— Novahoops.com (@novahoopsCom) December 27, 2024
South County, down senior guard Elijah Eccleston to injury, had trouble scoring most of the night, and trailed 44-33 early in the fourth quarter. Then the Stallions finally started to score, and when Trevion Campbell found Yusef Washington for a three-pointer, South County only trailed by a point late.
“South County is well-coached…they made a run, we made a run,” said Potomac coach Anthony Mills. “We just so happened to get the stop at the end and we finally made some free throws.”
Potomac (7-2) had its defense, and also another ace up its sleeve in sophomore guard Amani Asari. Asari, a rocket-fast transfer from O’Connell, was able to effectively possess the ball and generally keep it away from South County’s pressure defense, especially late. With the ball in his hands he was often fouled, hitting 9-12 free throws on the night and two in the closing seconds.
Asare had 11 points, as did junior forward Ryden Rodney-Sandy. Lyons had nine points in the balanced Potomac attack, as did junior Kong Tangwa off the bench. Senior guard Yusef Mavins had a nice all-around game with seven points, seven rebounds, and four assists.
Washington led South County (4-2) with 20 points and Jared Jackson added 10 points and 11 rebounds. While the offense got hot late, South County couldn’t overcome a slow offensive start. The Potomac defense held South County to 27% shooting from the field in the first half and 34% overall.
Potomac (and South County) is a legitimate contender in wide-open Class 6, but the Panthers will need their defense and continued improvement overall to go far into the postseason.
“This was a good battle test early in the season between two good programs,” said Mills. “We have to continue to grow…this is a new, young group of guys getting the opportunity to step into the spotlight.”
“I’m just happy we were able to survive the end. The sky is the limit for our guys if they keep doing what we’re asking them to do.”
–Chris Jollay
all statistics are unofficial
| POTOMAC | FG | FT | TP | REB | AST | |
| MAVINS | 3-11 | 0-0 | 7 | 7 | 4 | |
| ASARE | 1-5 | 9-12 | 11 | 4 | 2 | |
| LYONS | 4-12 | 1-3 | 9 | 0 | 4 | |
| FRAZIER | 2-4 | 1-2 | 5 | 2 | 0 | |
| RODNEY-SANDY | 5-6 | 1-3 | 11 | 3 | 2 | |
| Tangwa | 4-9 | 0-0 | 9 | 6 | 1 | |
| Woods | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | |
| Logan | 2-2 | 1-4 | 5 | 3 | 0 | |
| TOTALS | 21-49 | 13-24 | 57 | 28 | 14 | |
| Threes: Mavins 1-3, Tangwa 1-4, Asare 0-1, Frazier 0-1, Lyons 0-5 | ||||||
| SOUTH COUNTY | FG | FT | TP | REB | AST | |
| ANDERSON | 2-6 | 0-0 | 5 | 5 | 1 | |
| WASHINGTON | 6-20 | 4-6 | 20 | 3 | 3 | |
| JACKSON | 3-10 | 4-4 | 10 | 11 | 3 | |
| ROBINSON | 2-7 | 0-0 | 6 | 1 | 3 | |
| EDWARDS | 1-5 | 1-2 | 3 | 5 | 1 | |
| Campbell | 2-2 | 1-4 | 5 | 2 | 1 | |
| Lancaster | 2-3 | 1-2 | 5 | 0 | 0 | |
| Milam | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| TOTALS | 18-53 | 11-18 | 54 | 27 | 12 | |
| Threes: Washington 4-12, Robinson 2-7, Anderson 1-4, Jackson 0-1, Edwards 0-1, Lancaster 0-1 | ||||||