Herndon Takes Home Concorde District Title
Herndon junior Matt Seeger caught the ball and paused, seemingly in shock. He found himself wide open underneath the basket, with one minute remaining in the Concorde District Championship.
He would then make the easy lay up, sealing the deal for the Herndon Hornets, as they would prevail over the Westfield Bulldogs by a final score of 68-58.
The victory marked Herndon Coach Gary Hall’s fifth Concorde District Tournament Championship, and an undefeated season in district play.
Coach Hall reflected on his team’s strategy going into its second meeting with Westfield this season, “We felt we had the best team, and didn’t have to do anything different. We felt if we played solid basketball and played our game, we could be successful.”
Westfield jumped off to an 8-5 lead behind the strong inside play of sophomore Maurice Hubbard. Westfield held a 19-18 lead in the final minute of the first quarter, when Herndon senior guard Chase Miller hit a three pointer to give the Hornets a lead that they would never relinquish.
Herndon used that momentum to completely shut down Westfield’s offense, as they outscored the Bulldogs 20-6 in the second quarter.
Yet, Westfield was able to stay alive going into the fourth quarter, as their deficit was only 10, 51-41. They benefited from the second half team foul totals, and were able to get to the free throw line repeatedly during the first five minutes of the fourth quarter. At one point, Herndon had ten team fouls compared to Westfield’s three.
Westfield sophomore Matt Cook made a basket that cut Herndon’s lead down to 55-47, with 4:50 remaining in the game. However, Herndon would not allow Westfield to get any closer than that.
Despite Westfield’s best efforts to double-team and trap the Reynolds, the Concorde District Tournament MVP, he would pass it out to an open team, draw a foul, or split the defenders nearly every time.
Reynolds was quick to point out that the cohesive play of his team was the driving force behind their championship victory. “Our strength was our defense, yah know, staying together and keeping our composure to stop their runs in the third and fourth quarter.”
Hall added, “We have great depth, and a pretty sound defensive team. We’re not just a one man team. We’re very fortunate to have the best player in the state of Virginia [Reynolds], but we have pretty good players surrounding him.”
When Westfield scored, Herndon would answer. Whether it was a gravity defying Reynolds lay up, tough inside points from all-tournament teamer Larry Gbenyon, or clutch free throws, Herndon continued to score points when they needed them.
Reynolds led all scorers with 25 points, and also added 7 assists, and six rebounds. Seeger had 11 points as well. Herndon amassed Westfield in field goal percentage, 52.1%-38%. They outperformed Westfield from the three point line, making 40% of their shots from beyond the arc, compared to Westfield’s 14.3%.
After cutting down the nets, Reynolds gave his thoughts on his team’s victory, “It feels good. We’ll take this win tonight, but tomorrow we got to get ready for our Regionals.”
Hall made it clear that his team is not yet satisfied, “There’s a whole lot more, and that’s why I didn’t cut down the net. It’s the other net I’m after.”
