Panthers Defeat Patriots Behind Hogue's 3's
Sterling, Virginia - After losing three straight games, the Potomac Falls Panthers (4-5) returned home desperate for a win to stay competitive in the Dulles District. However, visiting team, Park View (6-3) came into the Panther Den with their sights set on a 5th straight win.
Park View controlled the tempo of the game early jumping out to a 33-19 halftime lead. The Patriots clearly appeared to be the better team. They outrebounded and overpowered the Panthers and capitalized off early turnovers and second chance opportunities. In the half, the Patriots received scoring contributions from seven different players. The most notable scorers being junior Marcus Freeman, who had 6 points, and Danny Foley with 4 points.
Potomac Falls struggled in the half, with their offense seemingly very one dimensional, as most of the starters fighting to get their shots going early. Kevin Bartnick kept the Panthers in the game with a halftime high 7 points. However, this game proved to be the tale of two half's for the defending district champions.
In the third quarter, the Panthers finally got their offense going with help from senior Alex Hogue. Hogue was held to zero points in the first half, but in the second, he reminded Park View of why he was the third leading scorer for the Panthers in the 2007 season. Over the course of the half Hogue seemed to play with ice water in his veins hitting 6 crucial 3-point shots. The Patriots still led 47-39 at the end of the third quarter, but the momentum was back in favor of the Panthers.
In the fourth quarter, the Panthers went into a full court press and crashed the boards hard. Now, it was the Patriots who were struggling to make shots. With just under 5 minutes to play, the Panthers tied the game at 48. Seconds later, they forced a turnover and hit a clutch 3-pointer to take their first lead of the game at 51-48. Over the next 4 minutes, the Panthers continued to pressure the Patriots on defense while building a 59-52 lead, with just 55 seconds left to go in the game. Park View was left with no choice but to desperately foul the Panthers to slow down the clock. The Patriots pulled within three with just under four seconds to go, thanks to the efforts of Foley, who had 13 points on the night. But they would get no closer as the Panther's got a much needed basket from the foul line to ice the game and give Potomac Falls the 64-60 important Dulles District victory. Hogue and Bartnick led the Panthers with 18 and 12 points respectively.
Potomac Falls will face George Mason high school, at home, this Monday and will look to even their record before heading out to another Dulles District showdown against Freedom-South Riding on Tuesday night. Park View will host the Dominion Titans next Tuesday, before traveling to Broad Run Friday to try and keep pace in the competitive Dulles District. All games begin at 7:30 pm. Friday's game will be broadcast live, worldwide, on the Gameday Radio Network, beginning with the pre-game show at 7:15.
