Showdown Thursday, Brackets Heating Up....
Tournament Fever continues on Thursday with several big showdowns in Region II and in the Northern Region. Gameday has a full schedule of games planned for you to watch and listen to. Check back mid day for a complete schedule.
Langley's David Adams was clutch for the Saxons on Wednesday, scoring 19 points, including two huge 3-pointers down the stretch. Langley advanced with a 67-60 win over Centreville and will play Stuart on Thursday.
Photo By: Yvette Gagnon / Gameday
The big question surrounding Round V of the Loudoun County vs Freedom rivalry is whether or not Kendra Holmes is going to play. The floor leader for the Lady Raiders has a knee injury that held her out of Tuesday's game against James Wood. Without her, County may have trouble stopping Kelsey Buchanan in the paint.
DULLES, VA - There may not be another day like it the rest of the year. With everything on the line, bitter rivals will meet again with one thing in mind, destroying their opponent's dreams. Broad Run will travel across town to face Potomac Falls for the 4th time this season, and Loudoun County will travel to Freedom to square off against the Eagles for the 5th time this season.
However, there are even more intriguing matchups to discuss across the region. Herndon, arguably the best team from the Concorde District all year long, travels to face the National District's best Mount Vernon. The Oakton Lady Cougars host Mount Vernon, and the Oakton boys will enter the ring against Yorktown.
Those primetime showdowns are just a few of the games that highlight the Thursday night schedule here at Gameday as basketball playoff fever kicks into full gear across Northern Virginia.
We start with the Region II playoffs, and no game seems bigger than the two in Loudoun County. Potomac Falls, fresh off their Dulles District Tournament win over the Spartans, will now have to beat Broad Run for the 3rd time this season if they want to continue playing.
Broad Run didn't play well last weekend against the Panthers, and it showed with a 69-58 loss. Not taking away anything from Potomac Falls, but these two teams are closer than 11 points. The last time the Spartans visited Potomac Falls, they fell short 66-63 on a last second trey from Panther Zach Curran.
In this match-up, Broad Run will need more from their dynamic duo of Kevin McGaughey and Taylor "T-Bone" Johnson. The two will need to be on their game on Thursday night if the Spartans want to pull out the win.
Potomac Falls has struggled some in the post-season over the years, but this Panther team might have the right combination to get over the hump. Head Coach Jeff Hawes has had the Panthers deep into the tournament in the past, but this may be the toughest contest Potomac Falls will play until the state tournament. Liberty or Sherando await the winner of this showdown, and both figure to be underdogs to either the Spartans or the Panthers.
Playing a team for the 4th time, as my colleague Richard Colven pointed out in his article this week, is tough. There are no secrets, and the team that makes the fewest mistakes, and stays out of foul trouble will be left standing in the end.
The same might not be the case across town at Freedom, as Loudoun County will venture into town possibly without one of their toughest players. Senior Kendra Holmes has a banged up knee, and sat out of Tuesday's win over James Wood. Her status is uncertain, and if she doesn't play, Freedom will enter the game with a decided advantage. Of course, Brittany Batts and Alissa Kain may disagree, and they should. Batts scored 31 points against the Colonels, and Kain added 16 points. Batts hit a school record 9 three pointers in the win.
Outside shooting will be crucial for the Raiders if they are without Holmes, and the Lady Eagles will increase the pressure on the perimeter for sure. Kelsey Buchanan and Dionna Scott will be ready for this one, and Freedom at home is tough to beat twice in a row. Expect this game to be close, and come down to the wire as usual.
Possibly the most intriguing match-up of the night is at Mount Vernon High School. The Majors host Herndon in what should be the best 2nd Round game in the Northern Region. Austin Hamilton and the Hornets will have their hands full with Skylar Jones and the Majors. Mount Vernon destroyed Annandale 93-79 on Wednesday, and Herndon beat South Lakes at home. It will be a game dictated by great guard play, and the battle in the paint should be fun to watch as well.
The Lady Majors will travel to Oakton to face the Lady Cougars, and that won't be an easy trip to come home with a win. Oakton took care of business on Wednesday with a 48-37 win over McLean. The Highlanders trailed at one point 20-9, and then made it closer late, but it wasn't enough to knock out the team many believe is the Northern Region favorite.
The Oakton Boys team will host Yorktown, who shocked South County on Wednesday to move on to the 2nd round of the tournament. Yorktown is playing well, as is Oakton, which should make for an interesting game. Andrew Daniels continued his assault on the opposition with 6 three point shots in a 64-35 win over McLean on Wednesday.
The Cougars were up 35-7 at the half, and never looked back. Both Oakton teams will host 2nd round games with the Girls game starting at 5:45pm.
In other Northern Region action on Wednesday, the Langley Saxons rallied to beat Centreville in overtime 67-60. Led by David Adams, who scored 19 points and knocked down two crucial three points shots late, the Saxons advanced to play Jeb Stuart on Thursday night at Langley.
Centreville's Warren Denny fouled out with 3 minutes to go in the overtime period, and the Wildcats ran out of time at the end. Denny scored 18 points, but struggled early before finding his groove in the 4th quarter.
Austin Kriz got in trouble early with fouls, but came back to score the first two buckets in overtime. Colin Jones also hit a couple of big three pointers down the stretch to help Langley continue their season.
Jeb Stuart beat Woodson from the Patriot District to line up Thursday's meeting with the Saxons.
Chantilly jumped on Marshall early with an 18-2 run in the first half of the game, and held on to win 59-47. The Chargers received a tremendous effort from junior Kethan Savage, and moved on to the second round to face West Potomac on Thursday. The Wolverines beat Falls Church to advance.
The Westfield Lady Bulldogs took care of Stone Bridge Wednesday to set up a big showdown with Myisha Goodwin and the Edison Eagles. Edison beat Woodson 71-61, and Westfield downed Stone Bridge 52-36.
Showdown Thursday should be fun to watch unfold, and we'll have it for you right here online at GamedayMagazine.com. Our coverage will include the following games as we continue our coverage of the post-season tournaments.
REGION II. SEMIFINALS:
Broad Run @ Potomac Falls - 7:00pm
- Tom Whipple (Play By Play)
- Glenn Wooten (Color Commentary)
- Jan Johnson (Photography)
*On-Demand Video...Live Audio Feed
Loudoun County @ Freedom - 7:00pm
- Andy Hayes (Play By Play)
- Woody Woodruff (Color Commentary)
- Gary Sousa (Photography)
*Live Video Available
NORTHERN REGION 2ND ROUND ACTION:
Herndon @ Mount Vernon - 7:30pm
- Aaron Canada (Play By Play)
- David Orndorff (Color Commentary)
- Mike Kurec (Photography)
*Live Video Feed Available
Mount Vernon @ Oakton (Girls) - 5:45pm
- Jason Rufner (Play By Play)
- George Khalsa (Color Commentary)
- Chris Barron (Videography)
- Allie Berube (Photography)
*Live Video Available
Yorktown @ Oakton (Boys) - 7:30pm
- Jason Rufner (Play By Play)
- George Khalsa (Color Commentary)
- Chris Barron (Videography)
- Allie Berube (Photography)
*Live Video Available
*All Pregame Shows Begin 15 Minutes Prior To Tipoff. Stay tuned for more exciting coverage of the Tournaments right here as Gameday will be televising the Northern Region Tournament on Saturday and Monday night on a Pay Per View basis right here online.
Here's a breakdown on the rest of the Northern Region schedule for Thursday.
REGION II BOYS:
Sherando @ Liberty
REGION II GIRLS:
Potomac Falls @ Liberty
NORTHERN REGION BOYS:
Chantilly @ West Potomac
Herndon @ Mt. Vernon
Yorktown @ Oakton
Stuart @ Langley
NORTHERN REGION GIRLS:
Mt. Vernon @ Oakton
Herndon @ S. County
Chantilly @ W. Spring
Westfield @ Edison
