It’s a cliche to say basketball is a game of runs, but that’s the best way to describe the contest between #16 Osbourn and #15 Freedom-Woodbridge Wednesday night in Manassas.
Tied at thirteen apiece, star Freedom guard and Mount St. Mary’s commit James West IV buried a three-pointer as the first quarter ended to give his team the lead. Then in the second quarter Freedom upped the defensive intensity and applied constant, trapping pressure to Osbourn, holding the home team to only one point through most of the frame. Freedom now led 28-14. The visitors were on a 15-1 run and Rocky Carter’s Osbourn team was on its heels, unable to run any offense and out of sorts.
But the home team got a couple of baskets off steals and another before halftime to cut the lead to 28-20 at the break. That was the start of a 37-9 Osbourn run that would continue well into the fourth quarter. As Osbourn made its move the Freedom players were now the ones that seemed rattled, rushing three-pointers and making unforced errors. They regained composure, but by then it was too late. Osbourn was able to make its free throws and seal the win, 66-50.
Talk about a tale of two (roughly) halves for Osbourn (2-1). The Eagles scored 14 points the first 14 minutes of the game, and then finished with 46 points the last 18.
Osbourn forward Anthony Pearson averaged 21.5 points in his team’s first two games, but at halftime he only had five points. The 6’2″ senior went on a tear in the second half from inside and out, finishing with 26. His old-fashioned three-point play with 1:02 left in the third quarter enabled his team to tie the game at 33, and pumped up the crowd.
“It was rough in the first half,” said Pearson after the game. “But Coach stressed the communication and ball movement at halftime and we started playing as a team. And when we started playing as a team we started forcing turnovers and getting easy baskets, taking what the defense gave us. My teammates really picked me up.”
They did at that. With leading scorers Pearson and Zach Powell (11 points) somewhat off until later in the game, senior guard David Moss stepped up. Moss didn’t miss a shot on his way to 13 points, but also contributed eight rebounds and dished out three assists. Reserve Connor Withers, a 6’4″ junior who can play inside or out, didn’t score but also contributed eight rebounds and three assists, helping greatly with ball movement in the second half.
“WIthers didn’t score one bucket tonight,” Coach Carter said. “But what he did–how he took care of the basketball–we don’t break Freedom’s press without him. And David Moss finished really well. He hasn’t been playing basketball long–those two kids are just starting to scratch the surface.”
It was a tough night for Freedom (2-1). West, who scored 37 points against Patriot on Monday and can attack the rim and drain three-pointers almost effortlessly, was held to 14 points on 5-13 shooting. On the positive side, Freedom’s defense was dominant for a quarter and eight players scored. They’ll look to rebound Friday when they host rival Woodbridge.
Coach Carter was understandably pleased with his team, who prevailed against a deep and dangerous Freedom squad. His team isn’t particularly fast or tall, but he has a lot of players who play hard and can do lots of different things on the court. After two wins against talented squads in Herndon and now Freedom, the region is starting to acknowledge his Eagles as a very dangerous opponent.
“We want to be like the Potomacs and the Battlefields, but it’s one step at a time,” said Coach Carter. “We have to stay with what we’re doing and not panic, and at halftime I think we did that and just relaxed. I was very happy with how we played better [in the second half] but there’s a lot we have to work on. This game is over and our next game is Friday night [at Gar-Field]. We have to get better–that’s what our job is. But I’m confident we will.”
–Chris Jollay
All stats are unofficial
| OSBOURN | FG | FT | TP | RBS | AST | |
| POWELL | 2-6 | 7-8 | 11 | 3 | 1 | |
| BREEDING | 3-9 | 0-0 | 6 | 6 | 1 | |
| HOGAN | 2-3 | 4-5 | 8 | 4 | 2 | |
| MOSS | 6-6 | 1-2 | 13 | 8 | 3 | |
| PEARSON | 8-18 | 8-9 | 26 | 4 | 0 | |
| Withers | 0-1 | 0-0 | 0 | 8 | 3 | |
| Hylton | 1-1 | 0-0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | |
| TOTALS | 22-44 | 20-24 | 66 | 33 | 11 | |
| Three Pointers: Pearson 2-4, Powell 0-2, Breeding 0-2, Withers 0-1 | ||||||
| FREEDOM | FG | FT | TP | RBS | AST | |
| BROWN | 2-9 | 6-7 | 10 | 1 | 3 | |
| WEST | 5-13 | 2-2 | 14 | 0 | 2 | |
| NUNNALLY | 4-8 | 0-0 | 8 | 8 | 0 | |
| LEE | 0-1 | 0-2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| PEACOCK | 1-8 | 0-0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | |
| Hicks | 1-3 | 0-1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | |
| Booth | 1-3 | 0-0 | 3 | 1 | 0 | |
| Braswell | 3-5 | 0-0 | 8 | 1 | 0 | |
| Simms | 0-0 | 0-2 | 0 | 4 | 1 | |
| Turkson | 0-0 | 0-0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | |
| TOTALS | 17-50 | 8-14 | 50 | 16 | 8 | |
| Three Pointers: Braswell 2-3, West 2-7, Turkson 1-1, Booth 1-1, Brown 0-1 | ||||||