A fast-paced, up-tempo strategy using frequent substitutions is becoming more and more prevalent amongst Northern Virginia basketball coaches these days. Robinson attacked that way against South Lakes, and while the Rams might have long-term success using that method, they had a rough go of it against the Seahawks.
That’s because there aren’t too many teams that can match the depth and athleticism of South Lakes.
The Seahawks (1-0) were hardly bothered by the Rams’ full court pressure and mass substitutions en route to a 93-53 home win Tuesday night. 13 players scored in all, and Mike Desmond’s team shot well over 50% from the field. The Seahawks came out with energy, taking a 31-6 lead after one quarter, and never looked back.
“Robinson caught us off-guard with their version of ‘the system’, ” Desmond said. “We returned 10 guys [from last year] who were able to draw on experience from playing Braddock and Yorktown, though, and we were able to attack that style.”
The Seahawks were able to weave and pass through the Rams’ press all night and get easy baskets at the rim. Often, fast breaks were finished by 6’8″ senior forward Clark Castleberry (shown scoring below), who stood on the block and simply waited for his teammates to get him the ball. Castleberry led the way for South Lakes with 16 points.
The bench was strong early in the Seahawks’ first quarter run and throughout the game. Senior guard Matthew Logan had 13 points as he and his fellow reserves accounted for a whopping 50 points total. To say the Seahawk bench provided energy would be an understatement–sophomore guard Nijel Howard was great on the glass (nine boards), and senior guard Matthew Hurt fired up his team at the end of the first with a beautiful diving save.
The Rams (0-1) started to settle in and get to the free throw line eventually, but they were too far behind to mount a serious comeback. Senior guard Ben Lajoie impressed with a great all-around game (18 points, seven boards) in the loss.
“Box scores can be misleading–they don’t necessarily reflect how hard both teams played,” Desmond said. “I think having the type of depth we have played a big role in the outcome. Everybody contributed.”
–Chris Jollay
all stats are unofficial
| SOUTH LAKES | FG | FT | TP | REB | AST | |
| GIAON | 5-6 | 1-1 | 12 | 2 | 3 | |
| TANG | 2-4 | 0-0 | 5 | 2 | 1 | |
| CASTLEBERY | 7-9 | 2-2 | 16 | 4 | 0 | |
| COOLEY | 2-5 | 0-2 | 4 | 5 | 5 | |
| LAUTURE | 2-4 | 1-4 | 6 | 3 | 5 | |
| Owen | 4-9 | 0-0 | 9 | 1 | 2 | |
| Howard | 4-9 | 0-0 | 9 | 9 | 0 | |
| Logan | 6-6 | 0-0 | 13 | 2 | 1 | |
| Luongo | 2-5 | 0-0 | 4 | 1 | 1 | |
| Hurt | 0-0 | 3-4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | |
| LittleJohn | 4-7 | 0-2 | 8 | 4 | 1 | |
| Pons | 0-2 | 0-0 | 0 | 3 | 2 | |
| Eishowaya | 0-1 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Diamond | 1-2 | 0-0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | |
| Finney | 1-4 | 0-2 | 2 | 3 | 2 | |
| TOTALS | 40-73 | 7-17 | 93 | 40 | 23 | |
| Threes: Giaon 1-1, Howard 1-1, Logan 1-1, Lauture 1-2, Tang 1-3, Owen 1-3, LittleJohn 0-1, Cooley 0-2, Luongo 0-2 | ||||||
| ROBINSON | FG | FT | TP | REB | AST | |
| LAJOIE | 4-12 | 9-9 | 18 | 7 | 3 | |
| ALLEN | 2-4 | 5-8 | 9 | 0 | 1 | |
| MORRIS | 0-3 | 2-2 | 2 | 3 | 1 | |
| SMITH | 1-7 | 0-0 | 3 | 2 | 1 | |
| LIVINGSTON | 3-6 | 4-7 | 11 | 1 | 0 | |
| Maag | 1-3 | 0-0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | |
| Nguyen | 0-1 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Martin | 1-1 | 0-0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | |
| Lauderdale | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | |
| LoPresti | 1-2 | 3-4 | 5 | 2 | 1 | |
| Gibson | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Blahusch | 0-3 | 0-1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | |
| TOTALS | 13-42 | 23-31 | 53 | 22 | 7 | |
| Threes: Livingston 1-1, Martin 1-1, LaJoie 1-3, Smith 1-5, Maag 0-1, Nguyen 0-1, LoPresti 0-1, Allen 0-2, Morris 0-3, Blahusch 0-3 | ||||||