After digging out from an early hole, Alexandria City led West Potomac 38-28 with a couple minutes left in the third quarter. Then Titans star senior guard Kye Robinson picked up his third and fourth fouls in quick succession and left the floor.
By the end of the third quarter, the Titans’ lead had shrunk to 42-41, and soon after the Wolverines pulled back in front.
Then Robinson came back in and an already good night for Kye and the Titans became a perfect one.
Robinson scored 26 points on the evening for the Titans, including his 1000th career point in the first quarter, as visiting Alexandria City held off the Wolverines, 55-52. While reaching the individual milestone was nice for Robinson and his family, the celebration afterwards turned into complete joy because of the team win.
““The 1000 points felt amazing because it’s something I’ve always wanted since a little kid and to get the win against a rival school just put the cherry on top,” said Robinson.
West Potomac might very well have rallied even with Robinson on the court late in the third quarter. The Wolverines rarely if at all go down easy in their own building, especially against a National District rival like Alexandria City. West Potomac smashed the Titans early on the boards to grab an initial lead and even with Robinson on the floor took a 52-46 lead late after BJ Nkrumah found fellow senior John Colligan open twice for three-pointers.
West Potomac (2-2, 7-4) didn’t score again, however, as the Alexandria City defense clamped down. Titans sophomore point guard Darius Bivins, who has some of the quickest hands in the area, forced several steals and came alive offensively in the fourth quarter. Once the Titans took a 55-52 lead, the Wolverines had several chances to tie the game. The below video shows a key strip by Bivins on Nkrumah with about 13 seconds left.
It was clear that the Titans (4-0, 8-2) need Robinson, who got his 26 points on efficient shooting. But at the end of the night it was also clear the Titans also needed a complete team effort to get the win. Bivins finished with 13 points, while Sean Burbage, Macodou Ndou, and Christian Washington, the other Titans starters, were key. Burbage had a clutch three-pointer in the second half and added seven points, while all three players helped to somewhat neutralize the Wolverines’ rebounding advantage in the second half with their hustle.
That rebounding advantage was in part because of relentless Wolverines like sophomore Justin Edwards and Liam Koelsch, but also in part due to the absence of 6’6″ Titans senior Teko Bostick, out to injury. Nkrumah, who led the Wolverines with 14 points, played a lot of point guard due to the absence of West Po star point guard Chris Morrison, also sidelined with an injury.
Robinson’s historic milestone notwithstanding, it was just another typical, close Patriot District clash between two contenders. Just two nights before West Potomac had suffered a four overtime loss to W.T. Woodson in the district.
The two rivals will play again in a few weeks at Alexandria City.
–Chris Jollay
all statistics are unofficial
| TITANS | FG | FT | TP | REB | AST | |
| BIVINS | 6-15 | 0-0 | 13 | 4 | 3 | |
| ROBINSON | 11-19 | 4-7 | 26 | 5 | 1 | |
| BURBAGE | 2-7 | 2-4 | 7 | 4 | 0 | |
| WASHINGTON | 1-4 | 0-0 | 3 | 3 | 1 | |
| NDAO | 1-1 | 1-2 | 4 | 3 | 2 | |
| Libresco | 1-2 | 0-0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | |
| Burgess | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Smith | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | |
| TOTALS | 22-48 | 7-13 | 55 | 22 | 8 | |
| Threes: Ndao 1-1, Bivins 1-2, Carew, Jr. 1-2, Burbage 1-4, Robinson 0-2 | ||||||
| WOLVERINES | FG | FT | TP | REB | AST | |
| NKRUMAH | 6-14 | 0-0 | 14 | 3 | 5 | |
| OFORI | 3-5 | 1-2 | 7 | 4 | 1 | |
| COLLIGAN | 4-10 | 0-0 | 11 | 1 | 0 | |
| EDWARDS | 4-13 | 3-4 | 11 | 11 | 0 | |
| GREEN | 1-4 | 0-0 | 2 | 5 | 1 | |
| Sanchez | 1-5 | 0-0 | 2 | 2 | 2 | |
| Koelsch | 1-3 | 2-2 | 4 | 7 | 0 | |
| Hopper | 0-1 | 1-2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | |
| TOTALS | 20-55 | 7-10 | 52 | 34 | 9 | |
| Threes: Colligan 3-8, Nkrumah 2-7, Sanchez 0-3 | ||||||