Potomac Falls Crushes Loudoun County 65-47
The Potomac Falls basketball team is on cruise control this season moving to 10-1 with a big win over Dulles District opponent Loudoun County...
Photo By: Yvette Gagnon / GamedayMagazine | VIEW GALLERY
STORY BY: MICHAEL MARZZACCO
POTOMAC FALLS, VA - Last week, the Panthers took care of Dominion and Heritage in close and hard fought wins. With Saturday's game against Fauquier postponed due to snow, the Panthers returned to the hardwood Monday night in a big district clash with Loudoun County. The Panther Pit was packed even though it was a Monday night. A win over the Raiders would keep the Panthers undefeated in the Dulles District.
The Raiders started the game up 4-0, but Panthers, Brendon Chesson and Lukas Mihailovich made lay-ups to tie the game at 4. After Loudoun County took a 6-4 lead, Brendon Chesson made a three pointer to give the Panthers a 7-6 lead. The Panthers kept the lead for the rest of the game. Lukas Mihailovich made a basket to put Potomac Falls up 9-6. Defensively, their play was also impressive, highlighted by Tarrell Owens blocking Colin Gibson's shot. Later in the quarter, the Raiders cut the Panther's lead to two with the score 14-12. But Lukas Mihailovich made a three pointer to extend the lead to five with the score 17-12. After the first quarter, Potomac Falls was winning 19-14.
In the second quarter, the Panthers turned a five point game into a blowout as Zack Curran made a jump-shot to give the Panthers a 22-14 lead. Later in the quarter, Zack made a three to extend the Panthers lead by 15 with the score 30-15. Tarrell Owens made another great play on defense, when he stole the ball and drove to the hoop for a lay-up that made the score 35-15. At the end of the half, the Panthers were leading 41-19. In that second quarter alone, the Panthers outscored the Raiders 21-5.
In the second half, the Panthers continued to roll. Lukas Mihailovich made a lay-up to give the Panthers a commanding 51-24 lead. After that, Matt Hoover's jump-shot made the score 53-28. By the end of the third quarter, Potomac Falls looked really good and was ahead 59-32. In the fourth, they continued to dominate and won 65-47.
Leading scorers for the Panthers were Lukas Mihailovich, 22 points; Brendon Chesson, 13 points and Zack Curran, 7 points. Tarrell Owens and Greg Graves both had 6 points. Leading scorers for the Raiders were Calle Brown, 14 points; Worth Mays, 8 points and Bryan Huber, 6 points. Kris Pratt had 5 points while Mahir Mrkonjic had 4 points.
Coach Hawes was very proud of the Panther's performance tonight. "We played well. Our game Saturday was canceled, so we worked hard Friday and Saturday. We were trying to clean up some things. We didn't feel like we were playing real well last week. We really turned our defense up a notch in the second quarter. We played a whole lot better tonight. We were moving the ball and making the shots. It was more like how we hoped to play," said Coach Hawes.
With this win, the Panthers are now 10-1 overall and 4-0 in the Dulles District. Coach Hawes added, "The Broad Run win was huge but we're trying to take one game at a time. There are a lot of good teams: Park View and Briar Woods are a threat, Loudoun County beat Briar Woods, Dominion is playing well now, and Freedom played Broad Run to a six point game. So we're approaching every game with a ton of meaning because it does have a ton of meaning so we're taking one game at a time."
With a team this good, comes great fans. Coach Hawes added, "That wasn't bad tonight for a Monday night game. I thought it was a decent sized crowd. We still have to get more people to realize the product that's out here. They have got to come out and get into it. You can't just rise up for the Broad Run and Dominion games. We have to be ready every night, and it really helps when the fans are with us."
On Thursday January 14 the Panthers continue their home-stand as they take on Freedom. Tip-off is at 7:30. On Saturday January 16 the Panther will take on Broadway with tip-off at 6:30. That game is a make-up game from last month. Both games are at Potomac Falls. Panther Pit rise up!
