St. Anne-Belfield Falls to Whitman in Thriller
Written by: Kelechi Ukpabi
December 29, 2009
BETHESDA, MD - Sometimes when two tough teams get together, you wish there didn't have to be a winner and loser. The Saints of St. Anne Belfield scratched and battled with the Walt Whitman Vikings but came up short in the final moments to fall 61-58 in a fierce, well played basketball game. St. Anne played with a victorious effort, but not enough points in the to come out the victory.
It seemed more than a high school basketball game was on the line. There was pride, dignity, and pure unfiltered competitiveness. For the most of the game, Whitman was in control with balance scoring from its starters and a relentless effort on defense.
Whitman seemed to have the game at hand sprinting off to a 38-19 halftime lead. The Vikings dictated the tempo on offense in the first half, running their offense with pinpoint precision. Whitman's pick and roll scheme frustrated St.Anne defenders and provided a comfortable cushion at the break.
St. Anne came out in the second half with a full court press, trying to force turnovers and break into the Whitman lead. The pressure got them three quick baskets at the offset of the third quarter, two by Watkins who finished the contest with 10 pts. The high intensity defense rattled the ball-handlers for the Vikings and cut their lead to 40-25.
Midway through the 3rd quarter, Davis for St.Anne's took over. Davis connected on four straight field goals using his size and the backboard to muscle his way into the interior of Whitman's defense. While Davis was putting on a clinic in the 3rd for St.Anne, Whitman was missing several close opportunities.
The Vikings did not have a problem penetrating the Saints D, they just were not finishing. Layups and high percentage shots were just not falling for Whitman and the frustration was growing on the sideline.
"We could have easily gave this one away by not connecting on close one's, but luckily my guys kept fighting on both sides of the ball to keep it close and come out with the win" said Vikings coach Chris Lun.
St. Anne capitalized on Whitman's shortcomings by applying their intense pressure defense that they implemented at the beginning of the 3rd.
Baugh sparked another huge run for the Saints when he made a key steal under the opponent's goal to score and preceded to do the same thing on the very next inbound scoring four points in the final minute of the 3rd to cut Whitman's lead to 45-39 after three quarters.
The stage was set for an exciting 4th quarter and tensions were running high. Players from opposing teams were jawing at each other and the play got more physical.
Both teams began the quarter exchanging three pointers and the game felt like it was going to finish with fireworks. St. Anne's tough 2-3 zone was forcing Whitman to shoot a large amount of jump shots, but the Vikings began to connect on their field goals. St Anne coach Brian Kent countered emplacing his own zone, also forcing Whitman to shoot outside shots.
The strategies of the coaches gave the fans an opportunity to see the shooting skills of the two teams.
The score was tied at 50 in the 4th quarter after St Anne's point guard #44 made an acrobatic layup in the lane after he penetrated through the Whitman zone and maneuvered around the big trees that were waiting to reject his shot.
The bucket got the crowd on its feet, and with four minutes left, you knew this game was going to come down to the wire. With the coaches barking commands from the sideline and the crowd getting more involved, the contest took on a life of its own.
The play became more physical and the winner of this basketball game would be the better free throw shooting team. Both team exchanged fouls and foul shots, seeming to test each other on who was better from the charity stripe.
Down the stretch, Whitman was the more consistent free throw shooters connecting on 5 of 6 foul shots in the final three minutes.
St Anne was not done. With 23 seconds left and down by 4 points, the Saints hit a big three pointer from the left wing to cut the lead to one, 59-58.
But on the very next trip, St Anne's fouled Whitman, and the Vikings sank two huge free throws to put the game away.
It was a disappointing trip for St. Anne Belfield, who traveled all the way from Charlottesville, VA. It's going to be a long bus ride home, but the Saints played a good game, and this trip gives them much needed experience so they can be ready for the meat of their schedule.
