Bullis Upsets Landon to Take IAC Tourney
Bulldogs point guard Ryan Wright, named GamedayMD’s Player of the Game, led his team with a tenacious defensive effort.
Photo By: Paolo Galli / GamedayMD.com | VIEW GALLERY
Andre Hodo, who finished with 12 points and was the IAC Most Valuable Player of this game.
Photo By: Paolo Galli / GamedayMD.com | VIEW GALLERY
Written by: Kelechi Ukpabi
POTOMAC, MD- It was shear pandemonium after Landon's Joe McDonald rimmed out a pull jumper from the top of the key and final horned sounded. Bullis (12-13) did the unthinkable by defeating the IAC's top two teams on successive nights beating the Landon Bears (19-6) 51-49 before their home crowd after stunning Georgetown Prep last night.
This was a special night as it was the first time a 5th seed has won the IAC playoffs and it was also the first time an IAC school has won the tournament on their home floor.
Bullis' home court advantage was huge as the students participated in a "white out", wearing all white in the student section, heckling Landon players and cheering for their school at a deafening level.
Bulldogs point guard Ryan Wright, who was named GamedayMD's Player of the Game, led his team with a tenacious defensive effort and left it all on the court tonight taking charges and diving for loose balls.
Wright, who has committed to Hamilton College, spoke of the importance of the home crowd and admitted that there was a revenge factor involved in tonight's victory.
"This school needed us to lift the morale because our athletics have had a tough year", said Wright who finished with 11 points. "Tonight, we needed them and they came up big for us...We came into tonight's game wanting to redeem ourselves of that 20 point blowout Landon gave us earlier this year...This feels great".
Landon came out at the start of the game pumped. Senior captain Danny Rubin connected on a jumper and a three-pointer to begin the game and it looked like Rubin was going to have another big game scoring seven of Landon's first nine points.
Those would be the only seven points Rubin would score for the whole game as Bullis did a superb job of defending Rubin and contesting every shot he put up.
"I knew when we came out that they were going to have a guy in my chest on every shot I took...They played tough defense on me all night and making those first few shots might have got me a little too pumped up".
After Landon's fast start, Bullis' defense began to settle down and disrupt the Landon passing lanes and contest jump shots. Andre Hodo, who finished with 12 points and was the IAC Most Valuable Player of this game, was an immense presence inside for the Bulldogs.
Hodo and Landon center Darion Atkins battled all night for positioning down low and both played spirited basketball.
Throughout the remainder of the 1st quarter, Landon began to commit costly turnovers and enabled the Bulldogs to creep back into the game. Both teams played fierce defense which resulted in a 15-15 score at the end of one period.
Bullis began the 2nd quarter with great inside play from Robert Sampson. Sampson is the son of NBA Hall of Famer Ralph Sampson who was in attendance at tonight's game. Sampson started the period with a couple of blocked shots and scored on two impressive inside moves. Sampson finished with 9 points and clogged the paint with his 6'9'' frame.
Halfway through the 2nd quarter Ryan Wright drained a big time three-pointer from the left wing to give Bullis the lead at 23-21 and the capacity crowd went crazy.
Landon stilled struggled with turnovers in the 2nd period which contributed to Bullis taking the lead. Landon began to attack the basket late in the quarter to muster some type of offense. Their aggressive play was awarded with trips to the charity stripe.
Christopher Hudnut, a junior, scored a huge tip-in for Landon with about 30 second left to give the Bears the lead at 28-27.
Then, with seconds winding down in the first half and the crown on their feet, Joe Hazel, the sensational sophomore stepped up and sank a three-point at the buzzer the give Bullis the halftime lead at 30-28. The Bullis home audience went haywire as the Bulldogs entered the locker room at halftime.
The 3rd quarter began very sloppy and the magnitude of the game seemed to be getting to both squads. It was a combination of good defense and bad execution on offense that granted the shoddy play.
Sampson hit a three with 5:20 left in the 3rd to push the score to 34-30, Bullis in the lead. Then Landon went on a 9-0 run sparked by sophomore Addison Sarter, who hit two consecutive three-point buckets from the right wing to give Landon the lead at 36-35. Then the Bears followed with another three by senior Delonte Wellington. Landon was up 39-35
Anybody who walked into the gymnasium would have known it was championship basketball being played. The raucous crowd reacted to every missed shot, made shot, and blown whistle which made for a one of a kind environment.
As the 3rd quarter was winding down, Bullis showed their outside ability when Ryan Wright and junior Bill Reilly knocked down consecutive three-pointers and the Bulldogs had the lead at the end of three quarter 43-39.
Joe McDonald, who led all scorers with 21 points, played an extremely aggressive 4th quarter and single handedly kept Landon in the game. He continuously attacked the basket in the final period and hit huge free throws down the stretch to score with the clock stopped.
Landon played great defense down the stretch and rebounded the ball well. Darion Atkins continued to be an inside force for the Bears who only surrendered 8 points in the 4th quarter, there hard work proved not to be enough.
Joe Hazel's last second shot for Bullis right before halftime proved to be the difference in the game as both teams scored 21 points a piece in the second half. Hazel, who finished with 11 points, also made the last stop of the game altering the Joe McDonald's shot as time expired.
The student body dressed in all white rushed the court to celebrate as the final score stood at 51-49.
Landon concludes a great season in which they share a piece of the overall IAC championship, tied with the best record in the league with Georgetown Prep. Landon Coach Andy Luther still acknowledges his team's toughness and fight.
"We played a game just like this last night and it came down to one shot...My guys are fighters and we played good defense down the stretch...The ball just didn't bounce our way when in needed to" said Luther.
Bullis Coach Bruce Kelly mentioned how special the night was and is thankful for the senior leadership on the team.
"It was a movie...This is a beautiful, wonderful night for Bullis with the students and the white out and everybody coming together with Bullis pride...I am glad to have the opportunity to coach great young men in Ryan Wright, Andre Hodo and the rest of the seniors who end their time here on a great note".
