Bulldogs Rally Past Chantilly 57-49
Game Recap assisted by Jon Roser
CHANTILLY, VA - The Westfield Bulldogs came into Tuesday night's rematch with cross-town rival Chantilly, looking to exact a bit of revenge for the 13 point drubbing they took from the Chargers a month ago. The home crowd was stoked, and all clad in black, to support that effort. But the Chargers had a different plan on the night! To continue their Concorde District dominance, secure the championship, and the berth into the Northern Region tournament.
It all started out well for the Chargers, as the opening quarter, and most of the 1st half, was all Chantilly. But despite a 28 point outing from Chantilly guard Justin May, the Bulldogs took control of the game in the 2nd half, mostly behind the play of senior guard, Jamie Richardson, and newcomer, senior transfer Willie Snow (who the Gameday Radio staff referred to all night as A.V. Lawless, by virtue of the listing in the Westfield program!). Snow was added to the Westfield roster just a mere 3 weeks ago, because of eligibility. And what an addition he has become, as Westfield prevailed on this night, 57-49, and now has the inside track to the Concorde Crown, with 1 game remaining for both teams.
May hit two early threes as he led the Chargers on a 14-0 run to start the game. But after Bulldog stars Mo Hubbard, Jon Gaston, and Richardson were forced to take an early seat with foul trouble, in came Snow. His big presence under the basket kept the Chantilly offense at bay for the remainder of the half, and it was Snow's 3-point shot that got the Bulldogs fired up. But the damage seemed to be done by halftime, as the Chargers went into the locker room up by 10, 27-17. "Sometimes that big start can be a little bit fool's gold," noted Chantilly head coach Jim Smith.
Fool's gold, indeed! The Bulldogs came out after the break a completely different team, and the tide changed. Playing the rest of the game in foul trouble, Richardson took over the game. Hubbard and Gaston, too, played with a renewed vigor, and combined with Snow, the Westfield offense was on fire, while the defense clamped down on their rivals. The 21-8 run in the 3rd quarter put the Bulldogs up for the 1st time in the game, 38-35, going into the final quarter. Westfield controlled the remaining quarter as well, as the foul trouble switched to the Chantilly end of the court, and as 3 key players started to foul out of the game late in the 4th, the Concorde District title that the Chargers seemed to have a grasp on before the night, had been ripped away by the Bulldogs.
Coach Smith said that while the loss is painful, the team will build off it to prepare for a potential rematch with the Bulldogs in the Concorde District Championship; "Sometimes a loss late in the season can refocus you." May blamed the loss on the Charger's free throw percentage (the team went 10-21 from the line). "We missed a lot of free-throws and didn't get a lot of offensive rebounds," May said.
Although the team lost, Smith credited May for having a big offensive night. "He was about the only guy stepping up offensively," Smith said. Smith further added that the Bulldogs were able to win because they out-rebounded the Chargers and scored off their turnovers; "Offensively we didn't execute very well. [We] had a lot of turnovers"
Head Bulldog coach, Doug Ewell was quick to caution his team, after the game, that the season is not over yet, and they face a tough Hornets team, at Herndon, on Friday night. A loss there would put the Chargers right back in as champions of the District.
The atmosphere on the night was as electric as always between the 2 teams, as the Chantilly faithful made the 6 mile trip to Westfield, also clad all in black. With jabs and barbs being traded across the court most of the night, it would be the Dog Pound that would get the last hurrah on Tuesday...pouring out onto the court as the final seconds ticked off, the fans chanted their good-byes to the Charger followers as they filed out of the gym, setting up what could be a heated, yet entertaining, rubber match between the 2 teams, and 2 groups of fans, should they both meet for the Concorde District tournament final next week.
Chick-fil-A Players of the Game
Jamie Richardson - Senior Guard, Westfield
Richardson didn't start the game well, only accumulating 3 points by halftime. But he made up for it in the 2nd half, scoring 16, and ending the night with 19 points. His play, both offensively and defensively, was key in the Bulldogs come-from-behind upset over their heated rivals
Justin May - Junior Guard, Chantilly
May did his part for the Chargers, scoring a game high 28 points, and adding 6 steals that amounted to points...mostly his!
BOX SCORE
(3) WESTFIELD 57, (2) CHANTILLY 49
Chantilly (18-2, 10-2) -- May 9 7-12 28, Athearn 5 0-2 10, Decker 1 2-3 4, Manning 2 0-1 4, Tureaud 1 0-2 2, Nolan 0 1-2 1.
Westfield (18-2, 10-1) -- Richardson 5 8-11 19, Snow 6 3-5 18, Hubbard 2 5-7 9, Scanlon 2 2-2 7, Gaston 1 0-1 2, Kennedy 0 2-8 2.
Halftime: Chantilly, 27-17.
Three-point goals: Chantilly 3 (May 3); Wesdtfield 5 (Richardson, Snow 3, Scanlon).
