Hornets Fall One Game Short of Title
With time winding down in the fourth quarter, Herndon senior Scottie Reynolds was fouled hard, and knocked into a barrier beneath the basketball hoop. The Herndon student section, a little more than five yards away, gasped, as the star of their school lay motionless for several moments.
He got up under his own power, and shortly after, hit a jump shot that put Herndon up 51-50 with 2 minutes remaining. Unfortunately for the Hornets, this would be the last of many clutch baskets they made in their rollercoaster postseason, as they would be held scoreless in the final two minutes, and fall to Booker T. Washington, 55-51.
Herndon struggled on the boards in the second half, and shot under sixty percent from the free throw line.
Said Herndon Coach Gary Hall, “We played really, really hard. Was it our best performance? Absolutely not,” he then added, “Booker T.’s an outstanding team.”
The newly crowned state champions from Norfolk came into the game with an effective game plan for Reynolds, who, while scoring twenty points, was unable to pose as devastating a force as he was against Herndon’s previous two opponents. Bookers coach Darren Sanderlin explained his strategy, “We didn’t want him [Reynolds] to get comfortable. We threw a lot of defenses at him, because once he gets a feel for you, he takes the game over.”
While Booker T. Washington had won the state championship in ’85 and ’86, Herndon had not won it since 1951. Herndon forward Danny Jones commented on the added motivation, “I wanted it so bad after talking to them, and seeing how they felt, showing me their ring.”
Though this postseason did not conclude with Herndon being number one, there was a definite gain for Herndon High School and it’s beloved basketball team.
“I’m just taking it all in,” said Reynolds, “When every game’s an elimination game you gotta take it all in. A lot of people don’t get this opportunity, and when you get do you got to take advantage of it… We did something that’s never been done before, winning a regional championship, but unfortunately we didn’t get the big one.”
Reynolds and Jones scored 20 and 9 respectively for Herndon. Seniors Brandon Plummer and Antoine Perry scored 17 and 12 for Booker T. Washington.
