Panthers Score Big Against Freedom
STORY BY: MICHAEL MARZZACCO
POTOMAC FALLS, VA - After playing a great game on Monday, the Panthers were looking for an even better performance on Thursday as they hosted the Freedom (South Riding) Eagles. The Panther Pit was packed, just like it is for every game, hoping for another win to stay undefeated in the Dulles District.
From the start, it was all Panthers as Lukas Mihailovich made a lay-up and Zack Curran made a three-pointer. Less than three minutes into the game, the Panthers were winning 13-2. Later in the quarter, Ben Sweger and Brendon Chesson made lay-ups to give the Panthers a 24-10 lead. By the end of the first quarter, the Panthers were winning 29-12.
In the second quarter, Potomac Falls was building on its lead. Greg Graves made a lay-up, but the question was: will he dunk? - a move the fans had been waiting for. Matt Hoover made a basket to give the Panthers a 35-15 lead. One great play was Lukas Mihailovich's behind the back lay-up to give the Panthers a 39-18 lead. The Panthers headed into the locker room at halftime with a commanding 48-23 lead.
In the third quarter, the Panthers continued to roll as Greg Graves made a slam dunk that ignited the Panthers, and made the crowd go wild. By the end of the third, the Panthers were soaring with a 73-34 lead. Matt Byrd had yet to score a point this season. During every game when he came onto the court, the crowd would yell to the other players, "give it to Birdie" (Byrd's nickname).
In the fourth quarter, the fans finally got their wish. Matt received a pass and made a jump-shot to give the Panthers a 92-49 lead. It was Byrd's first basket of the season and the crowd loved it. The final score was the Panthers 97 - Eagles 50. It is the most points the Panthers scored in a Dulles District game in school history!
Leading the scoring for the Panthers was Greg Graves with 16 points. Lukas Mihailovich added 15 points, Matt Hoover had 11 points, Ben Sweger and Pete Simoneau both scored 10 points, Brendon Chesson scored 8 points. Also, Zack Curran scored 7 points, Garrett Hanson added 5 points and Matt Byrd scored 2 points. Everyone on the Panthers scored. For Freedom, Taylor Barton and Brian Orr had 9 points. Darren Hawkins added 8 points.
Coach Hawes was extremely proud of his team and the way they came out to play. He said, "We have got this phrase that says good to great. We're trying to do what it takes to get from being a good team to a great team, but we're not there yet. Freedom is a great team, and we're trying not to overlook anybody. We're trying to have a mature attitude. I was proud of the way we played. We shared the basketball a lot which is one of the staples of Panther basketball."
About the dunk Greg Graves said, "There were a lot of things going through my head. I was thinking about if the defender would block it. I was also thinking about if I was going to make it or miss it."
Matt Byrd was in a great mood when he scored that basket in the fourth quarter. He said, "It feels great to win like that and finally scoring feels great after having the crowd yelling at me all the time, it got me a little nervous, but I'm glad I got the monkey off my back."
With the win, the Panthers are now 11-1 overall and 5-0 in the District. The Panthers will take on Broadway High school on Saturday, January 16. The game is at Potomac Falls and tip-off is at 6:30PM. Broadway is ranked seventh in the state, so it should be an intense game.
Coach Hawes added, "Broadway is a big game. That's a good team coming in here, and they always gave us fits with their crowd. We played down there six years in a row, so I'm excited for them to come up here."
Panther Pit get ready for Saturday night!
