Miller cover
Heritage sophomore Masyn Miller (left) scored 20 of his game-high 24 points in the second half.

Miller’s 20 second half points lead Heritage over Tuscarora

Sophomore Masyn Miller scored 20 of his 24 points in the second half as Heritage stopped Tuscarora in the Dulles District opener for both teams, 60-54.

With visiting Tuscarora leading 33-25 at halftime and point guard Dylan Williams out with an injury he sustained in the first half, Miller started to handle the ball more. He continuously found lanes to attack the basket, hit from long range, and even followed teammates’ misses for buckets. He was efficient–in the second half he was 6-8 from the field, and 6-7 from the line.

 

“Had to step up,” said Miller. “Our point guard went down so I just took control, we worked as a team, and we did great.”

Miller’s basket on an offensive rebound to close the third quarter gave his team a 43-41 lead that it wouldn’t relinquish. Tuscarora stepped up its defense late and was aggressive most of the game, but sent the Pride (1-0, 9-2) to the free throw line far too much. On the night Heritage attempted 31 free throws to Tuscarora’s 11. Meanwhile, Heritage’s defense in the second half was very solid, as Miller’s team limited Tuscarora to 28% field goal shooting.

Junior Chas Battaglia did a lot of the heavy lifting for the Huskies, scoring a team-high 21 points. Junior Colin Byrd, who transferred from Paul VI to Tuscarora for the second half of the school year, had 12 points off the bench. It was Byrd’s first game in a Huskies uniform, and though he had some trouble getting into the flow of the offense, he wowed the crowd with two long three-pointers in the first half.

The game was Colin Byrd's first in a Tuscarora uniform.
The game was Colin Byrd’s first in a Tuscarora uniform. He had 12 points off the bench.

Battaglia, Byrd, and Tuscarora (0-1, 8-4) will improve going forward and remain a postseason contender, but so will young and surprising Heritage, which starts five underclassmen. Sophomore Liam Roane added 12 points for Heritage, while sophomore Alex Cox had a nice all-around game with seven points, four boards and three assists. While Williams didn’t play in the second half, his six first half points were key in keeping the Pride within striking distance.

For a Monday night game the gym was fairly full with Heritage and Tuscarora fans, and the win was very satisfying for Miller and his team.

“It means a lot to us because we don’t like Tusky,” he said. “We’ve been rivals with them for a long time and it just feels good to win against them.”

–Chris Jollay

all statistics are unofficial

HERITAGE FG FT TP REB AST
WILLIAMS 2-3 1-2  6  1  0
COX 2-7 3-4  7  4  3
ROANE 4-6 4-6  12  2  0
MILLER 7-10 7-11  24  6  1
GARLAND 0-4 3-4  3  4  1
Hetzel 0-1 1-2  1  1  0
Burns 2-9 0-0  5  3  1
Antonelli 0-2 2-2  2  1  0
TOTALS 17-42 21-31  60  22  6
Threes: Miller 3-4, Williams 1-2, Burns 1-4, Cox 0-1,     Garland 0-1, Antonelli 0-2
TUSCARORA FG FT TP REB AST
COLLINS 2-3 0-0  6   2   0
BATTAGLIA 8-16 2-2  21   4   2
WORLEY 0-2 0-0  0   1   4
FEAGIN 1-4 4-6  6   5   2
DUGGAN 1-3 0-0  3   5   1
Byrd 4-15 2-3  12   6   1
Ure 1-4 0-0  2   3   0
Castoro 0-2 0-0  0   2   1
Dillard 2-2 0-0  4   3   1
Price 0-2 0-0  0   1   0
TOTALS 19-53 8-11  54  32   12
Threes: Battaglia 3-8, Collins 2-2, Byrd 2-7, Duggan 1-2, Feagin 0-1, Ure 0-1, Castoro 0-1, Price 0-1, Worley 0-2