T C Williams High School | Archive | February, 2009

By Phil Murphy
Senior Multimedia/Content Editor
Washington, D.C. Metropolitan Area

Photo Gallery:
CLICK HERE

Video Galleries:
1st Qtr   2nd Qtr   3rd Qtr   4th Qtr

Watching T.C. Williams dribble out the clock in its Northern Region semifinal win over Lee, 79-61, one would not know the game’s magnitude.

As the scoreboard struck zeroes, the back-up point guard bounced the ball to the nearest official and filed into line with his teammates in front of first-year coach Julian King.

High-fives and a few smiles were all the emotion shown as the Titans clinched their third-straight state tournament berth.

For No. 8 T.C. Williams — who won its 70th-straight game against a Patriot District opponent on Saturday — this level of success has become the norm.

“We expect to be in the regional final,” said Titan senior Ed Jenkins, calling on the teaching of a former coach. “We expect to win everything. We were bred like that since we were freshmen. Coach [Ivan] Thomas put that in my head, ‘You’re supposed to be here. You’re supposed to do everything. You’re supposed to win district, region and state.’ And that’s how I carry it.

“It’s nice that we won, that we’re going to the big dance, but it’s nothing new to me.”

Echoed junior Ryan Yates, celebrating his 17th birthday on Saturday: “It’s a recurring theme. Every game is the same. We’ve played in big games, so it’s like everything is normal.

“Sometimes it feels like practice.”

With that easy-going attitude, the Titans methodically pulled away from the Lancers.

T.C. Williams, ahead by nine points at half time, had its lead trimmed to four midway through the third quarter on a 3-pointer by Lee senior Dimitri Sakellarides.

But the Titans turned to their spark plug — and Northern Region Player of the Year — in Jenkins to establish a favorable tempo and salt away the win.

Jenkins scored 17 of his game-high 28 points in the second half and hit five 3-pointers.

“I always have the green light, but never want to shoot too much, because that’s not me,” he said. “But this night, I came out here, I was ready. And I just shot. Every time I was open, I was going to shoot. If I miss, I was going to get it back and I was going to shoot again. Eventually, they started falling.

“I got in a good rhythm during warm-ups, my teammates found me and I was knocking down shots for us.”

To be fair, the Lancers were knocking down their fair share, as well.

Basketball wisdom suggests that it’s difficult to beat a team three times in one season, referencing a district tournament match-up after a regular-season sweep.

But T.C. Williams was looking for its fourth win against Lee this year, a rare — and even more challenging — accomplishment, especially since the most-recent Titan win, 77-71 in the district tournament, required overtime.

The Lancers hit eight three-pointers on Saturday, five by junior Walter Griffin, but still fell by an 18-point margin, matching their largest loss in the series this year.

“It keeps us calm,” said Yates on the benefits of the Titans’ winning culture. “For other teams, when stuff goes wrong for them they get rattled. A six-point deficit turns to 12, and 12 turns to 20. For us, we come back, forget about it and keep playing.”

Added Jenkins, on the difficulty of the single-season four-peat: “It’s tough, I can tell you that. I get tired of playing the same team more than once or twice.”

Unfortunately for Jenkins., T.C. Williams will play Hayfield in the Northern Region championship on Monday, a team it has already played — and beaten — twice this year.

In addition to their four-year district winning streak, the Titans are two-time defending Northern Region champions and defending Virginia AAA state champions.

They own a 16-game winning streak overall — dating back to a loss to nationally-ranked Montrose Christian — and a 44-game winning streak against Northern Region competition entering Monday’s tournament final.

“It’s a jungle out there,” said junior forward Billy Rowland, who scored 19 points in the semifinal win. “I know I have to do the best that I could. I know I’ve never been in this situation before, but, hey, if I do what I do, we’ll come out champions.”

Added Jenkins: “We’re going to come out here and take it like every [other] game. We have to beat them so we can go on and continue our streak.”

Email: pmurphy@digitalsports.com

         Robert E. Lee       11  18  16  16 — 61
No. 8 T.C. Williams       15  23  12  29 — 79

Lee — Holloway 6 4-5 16; Griffin 5 0-0 15; Sakellarides 5 0-0 12; Woldu 2 4-7 9; Gatlin 2 3-5 7; Meija 1 0-0 2.
Team totals: 21 11-17 61.
T.C. Williams — Jenkins 9 5-5 28; Rowland 6 7-10 19; Yates 4 5-8 14; Peterson 2 5-6 10; Chambers 2 0-0 4; Copeland 1 0-0 2; Sitton 0 2-2 2. Team totals: 24 24-31 79.
Three-pointers — Lee 8 (Griffin 5, Sakallarides 2, Woldu); T.C. Williams 7 (Jenkins 5, Yates, Peterson).

[!] Flag as Inappropriate

Processing your request, Please wait....

Report as:	Violent or Repulsive Content|Hateful or Abusive Content|Harmful Dangerous Acts|Child Abuse|Spam|Infringes My Rights
Write in Words: (Optional)

By Angela Watts
Assistant GM, Washington D.C. Metro Area

** Click the links above to access a full photo gallery and dozens of video highlights from Friday’s semifinal action!

** Click HERE to see video highlight’s from only No. 10 Mount Vernon vs. No. 3 Oakton.

** Click HERE to see video highlight’s from only Westfield vs. No. 8 T.C. Williams.

Mount Vernon and T.C. Williams made it perfectly clear they were hoping for a Majors vs. Titans Northern Region championship doubleheader — the first half of which was set to be determined during Friday night’s girls’ semifinal round.

Only, someone forgot to tell unbeaten Oakton that they weren’t invited to the party.

The resilient Cougars rallied from a 19-point deficit midway through the second quarter to defeat the Majors, 47-39, in Friday’s first semifinal game and spoil the chances of only two schools being represented in Monday’s finale.

Oakton’s fans, however, got their wish.

The Cougar faithful started chanting “We want T.C.! We want T.C.!” — and the message did not go unnoticed by the Titans, who also advanced with a 55-44 victory over Westfield in the nightcap.

“They wanted us,” T.C. Williams Coach Cavanaugh Hagen said. “They were pointing and laughing, saying, ‘We want T.C.!’ … so they’ll get us. They’ll get us.

“And we’ll play a hard game and take it to them like we have all season.”

No. 8 T.C. Williams (24-4) and No. 3 Oakton (27-0) will square off at 6 p.m. Monday in the girls’ championship game. Both teams have already secured an automatic berth into next week’s Virginia AAA state tournament.

Oakton did so with a miraculous rally that was sparked by freshman guard Caroline Coyer, who scored 18 of her team-high 22 points in the final two-and-a-half quarters of play. Coyer drained three shots from behind the arc during that stretch, all of which helped chip away at Mount Vernon’s lead.

Still, the Cougars did not take over the lead until after Major standout junior forward Tracy King went down with a right knee injury that coaches fear will be diagnosed as a torn anterior cruciate ligament. King, who scored a team-high 22 points, was carried from the floor by Major Coach Terry Henderson and Cougar Coach Fred Priester with 5:22 remaining and did not return.

Oakton took its first lead of the game at 38-37 on a pair of free throws by Coyer with 3:45 to play and never looked back.

“That was the thing, once Tracey went down we weren’t attacking the basket,” Henderson said. “Jasmine McDonald tried to take over and attack the basket, but she had a couple of shots that didn’t fall and they boxed out real well and seemed to come up with every loose ball. I think the girls got a little frustrated.

“It was a tough one. Tough way to lose a ball game.”

The Cougars were also helped by solid free throw shooting. Coyer connected on 9-or-10 foul shots — all during the fourth quarter — while her twin sister, Katherine Coyer, fared a perfect 4-for-4 from the line.

“Nothing to it,” Priester teased. “No, I couldn’t have dreamed that we would shot that poorly at the beginning. We’ve been scoring a lot of points all season long but we’ve been getting a little tighter here in these last few games.

“I thought, ‘We’ll get past the jitters early and they’ll start dropping’ … but they just didn’t. I don’t know, I think we were nervous. We were real nervous.

“I told them when it was 21-2 and we called time out I said, ‘Look, we just have to get it back to 10.’ Then I told them at half time we just have to get it back to five, and it was six at the end of the third quarter. It just seemed like it was a momentum thing. The kids didn’t give up.”

T.C. Williams trailed by a much smaller, 15-11 margin early in the second quarter, but the Titans turned that into a 20-17 lead with 5:08 left in the first half on a nice feed from senior guard Khalia Boston to senior forward Charnelle Huggins and never trailed again.

Westfield, which was paced by junior guard Shelby Romine’s team-high 14 points, just had no answer inside for T.C. Williams star Tierra Ruffin-Pratt. Ruffin-Pratt, despite missing a handful of layups, still finished with a game-high 26 points and double-digit blocks.

“I said with two-and-a-half minutes left, I said, ‘Take us to states,'” Hagen said of a quick conversation with Ruffin-Pratt, the Northern Region Player of the Year. “And right after that she got that steal and the layup and just kind of picked it up. And when she picks it up, the whole team does. They feed off of her.”
 
Despite a remarkable high school career, the North Carolina-bound Ruffin-Pratt has yet to win a Northern Region championship. The Titans, who have won 20 consecutive games, were unbeaten during the regular-season in 2007-08 but were knocked out of the Northern Region tournament in the first round after Ruffin-Pratt was sidelined with a separated shoudler.

“For four years we’ve been working,” she said. “And I’ve made it to the championship game and made it to regionals every year. But I haven’t won it yet. So it would mean a lot.”

Email: awatts@digitalsports.com

GAME 1
No. 10 Mount Vernon    12  14    7    6 — 39
No. 3 Oakton                   2  12  13  20 — 47
Mount Vernon — King 7 7-8 22; McDonald 4 0-0 8; Venable 2 1-2 6; Mathes 1 0-0 3. Team totals: 14 8-10 39. Oakton — C. Coyer 5 9-10 22; K. Coyer 2 4-4 9; Stephenson 3 1-2 8; Johnson 2 2-2 6; Borojeni 0 2-4 2; McGartland 0 0-2 0. Team totals: 12 18-24 47. Three-pointers — Mount Vernon 3 (King, Mathes, Venable); Oakton 5 (C. Coyer 3, K. Coyer, Stephenson).

GAME 2
Westfield                        13  10   7  14 — 44
No. 8 T.C. Williams          11  19   7  18 — 55
Westfield — Romine 5 4-5 14; Barondess 5 0-5 10; Andre 3 2-2 8; Richardson 3 0-0 7; Leon 1 1-2 3; Knox 1 0-2 2; McNamara 0 0-2 0. Team totals: 18 7-18 44. T.C. Williams– Ruffin-Pratt 10 6-6 26; Fikes 2 3-3 8; Norman 3 2-2 8; Boston 3 1-2 7; Huggins 1 4-6 6. Team totals: 19 16-19 55. Three-pointers — Westfield 1 (Richardson); T.C. Williams 1 (Fikes).

ALL-NORTHERN REGION TEAM

Player of the Year: Tierra Ruffin-Pratt, Sr., T.C. Williams
Coach of the Year: Fred Priester, Oakton

First Team
Simone Antwi, Soph., South County; Lauren Burford, Jr., Fairfax; Myisha Goodwin, Jr., Edison; Tracey King, Jr., Mount Vernon; Sam Landers, Sr., West Springfield, Kelcyn Manurs, Sr., South Lakes; Erin McGartland, Sr., Oakton; Sam Partonen, Jr., Robinson; Shelby Romine, Jr., Westfield.

Second Team
LaNia Charity, Sr., Yorktown; Melissa Gallo, Jr., W.T. Woodson; Phylliss Martin, Jr., Herndon; Priscilla Moseh, Sr., Lee; Jalinda Venable, Jr., Mount Vernon.

Third Team
Khaliah Boston, Sr., T.C. Williams; Audrey Dotson, Soph., Langley; Danielle Landry, Sr., Madison; April Robinson, Fr., West Springfield; Shante Waller, Jr., Washington-Lee.

Honorable Mention
Janae Jackson, Sr., Mount Vernon; Erin Kavanaugh, Jr., Madison; Zora Stephenson, Soph., Oakton; Rachel Warrick, Sr., Langley.

[!] Flag as Inappropriate

Processing your request, Please wait....

Report as:	Violent or Repulsive Content|Hateful or Abusive Content|Harmful Dangerous Acts|Child Abuse|Spam|Infringes My Rights
Write in Words: (Optional)

By Angela Watts
Assistant GM, Washington D.C. Metro Area

** Click the links above to access a full photo gallery and dozens of video highlights from Wednesday’s quarterfinal action!

There were no direct orders issued to Northern Region Players of the Year Tierra Ruffin-Pratt or E.J. Jenkins during the Northern Region quarterfinal games on Wednesday.

And yet both Titan stars instinctively knew when they were needed most.

And both, during those spurts, were downright dazzling.

Ruffin-Pratt scored 10 points and handed out two assists during the first three minutes of the third quarter to blow open an eventual 68-48 victory over Robinson in the first game of the doubleheader.

Then it was Jenkins’ turn as he recorded back-to-back steals and drove to the basket in the last two minutes of the third quarter to help secure what proved a 45-41 victory over Stuart in the nightcap.

“We were down, and I knew that the only way to get back in the game was to get back to our key principles, which is playing defense every game — and every play — as hard as we can,” T.C. Williams’ boys’ Coach Julian King said. “E.J. did that, and really helped us pick the intensity back up.

“Still, until the last second ticked off the clock I was worried.”

That’s because Stuart never gave T.C. Williams much breathing room.

The Raiders took their first lead of the game just before half time on the strength of consecutive baskets by senior forwards Mahamed Ibrahim (team-high 12 points) and Dominique Kosh to move ahead, 16-12. Stuart and T.C. Williams then traded the lead three times in the third before Jenkins’ defensive pressure allowed the Titans to pull ahead for good.

T.C. Williams took its largest lead of the game at 39-31 on another defensive steal — this one by senior guard Gavin Peterson — and a pair of subsequent free throws by Jenkins with 4 minutes, 33 seconds to play. But the Raiders kept fighting, and after three straight baskets by Hamza Kaissouni, Raymond Watson and Antonio Harris, Jr., they had closed the gap to 40-37 with 3:10 to go.

The margin shrank again to just one point — 42-41 — on a pair of Watson free throws with 2:10 remaining.

But Stuart mis-fired on a shot that could have given it the lead with :44.8 seconds to play, and T.C. Williams got a critical rebound from junior center Billy Rowland and steady free throw shooting from Jenkins (game-high 13 points), who connected on five-of-six free throw attempts down in stretch to seal the victory.

With it, the No. 8 Titans, the defending Northern Region and Virginia AAA state champions, advance to face Patriot District rival Lee at 7 p.m. Saturday at Robinson in the semifinal round with a state tournament berth on the line.

“It would mean everything for us to get back to the state tournament,” King said. “As I was just telling those guys, ‘Right now you’re marching in history. You’re creating your own destiny. Last year’s team is gone. Now it’s time to create your own niche.’ Our goal is to win the region and get back to states … and I’m confident my guys will play hard.

“The thing is, it’s just really tough to try and beat a team four times. So we really need to come prepared, because those guys we’re playing against, I’m sure they don’t want to lose to us for a fourth time, either, so they’ll be playing with some extra effort.”

The eighth-ranked Titan girls had a much easier route to the semifinal round. Up nine points at half time, T.C. Williams just exploded out of the locker room, going on a 14-0 run that gave them a 46-23 edge with 5:33 still to play in the third quarter. Ruffin-Pratt (game-high 18 points) had a hand in every field goal scored during that stretch as she assisted in the two field goals she didn’t make herself. 

“I want her to know that she is the leader and that this is her team as far as that goes,” Coach Cavanaugh Hagen said of the North Carolina-bound guard. “But I don’t want her to feel all the pressure or that all of the weight is on her back. It’s not. We have tons of weapons and when we’re hitting, it’s hard to stop all of them.”

“We went on a pretty good run in the second quarter … But it seems I’m never satisfied with how we can play and how we have played. I’ll always want the best for them, and I still think we can execute a lot better.”

The Titans will have a chance to show that when they take on Concorde District second-seed Westfield at 8 p.m. Friday in the semifinal round at Robinson.

“We haven’t peaked just yet,” Hagen said. “I know that for sure.”

Email: awatts@digitalsports.com

GIRLS
Robinson                    6  17    8  18 — 48
No. 8 T.C. Williams    18   14  20  16 — 68

Robinson — Partonen 4 2-4 13; Kuter 6 0-1 12; Priftis 3 4-4 11; Green 3 0-0 7; Esposito 1 0-0 2; Harris 1 0-0 2; Peterson 0 1-2 1. Team totals: 18 7-11 48. T.C. Williams — Ruffin-Pratt 6 5-6 18; Huggins 6 2-5 15; Norman 4 4-6 12; Fikes 3 2-2 8; Lewis 3 0-0 6; Thorne 1 1-2 3; Boston 1 1-2 3; Summa 0 2-2 2; Schedler 0 1-2 1. Team totals: 24 18-27 68. Three-pointers — Robinson 5 (Partonen 3, Green, Priftis); T.C. Williams 2 (Huggins, Ruffin-Pratt).

BOYS
Stuart                       6  10   9  16 — 41
No. 8 T.C. Williams     8   7  15  15 — 45

Stuart — Ibrahim 5 0-0 12; Watson 3 4-6 10; Harris 3 0-0 7; Kosh 2 1-2 5; Ford 2 0-1 4; Kaissouni 1 1-2 3. Team totals: 16 6-11 41. T.C. Williams — Jenkins 3 6-8 13; Chambers 3 1-2 7; Rowland 3 1-1 7; Yates 3 0-0 7; Moses 1 1-1 3; Copeland 0 2-2 2. Team totals: 16 11-14 45. Three-pointers — Stuart 3 (Ibrahim 2, Harris); T.C. Williams 2 (Jenkins, Yates).

[!] Flag as Inappropriate

Processing your request, Please wait....

Report as:	Violent or Repulsive Content|Hateful or Abusive Content|Harmful Dangerous Acts|Child Abuse|Spam|Infringes My Rights
Write in Words: (Optional)

Girls Beltway Basketball

Top-10 Rankings

This week’s DigitalSports Beltway
Ballers girls top-10 rankings shows the true strength of each respective team as each won all of its games over the past week, including post-season tournaments and final games of respective regular seasons.

*Records as of Monday, Feb. 23*

1. Riverdale Baptist (Ind.) 19-2;   LW: 1
Defeated National Christian, 68-54, 2/19; Montrose Christian, 85-17, 2/21

2. Eleanor Roosevelt (Prince George’s County) 18-1;   LW:2
Defeated Bowie, 60-50, 2/17; C.H. Flowers, 43-31, 2/18; Parkdale, 61-55 2/20

3. Oakton (Northern Region) 24-0;   LW: 3
Defeated Chantilly, 45-37, 2/18; Westfield, 36-34, 2/20

4. Paint Branch (Montgomery County) 19-2;   LW: 4
Defeated Seneca Valley, 89-82, 2/17

5. Good Counsel (WCAC) 23-3;   LW: 5
Defeated Archbishop Carroll, 51-47, 2/17; Bishop Ireton, 66-23, 2/19, Saint Mary’s Ryken, 68-46, 2/20

6. Largo (Prince George’s County) 20-2;   LW: 6
Defeated Gwynn Park, 75-45, 2/17; Forestville, 72-24, 2/20

7. North Point (SMAC) 21-1;   LW: 7
Defeated Calvert, 49-39, 2/18; Lackey, 52-47, 2/20

8. T.C. Williams (Northern Region); 19-4   LW: 8
Defeated West Springfield, 59-53, 2/20

9. Forest Park (Prince William); 20-4   LW: 9
Defeated Hylton, 78-27, 2/18; Woodbridge, 79-36, 2/20

10. Mount Vernon (Northern Region); 22-2   LW: 10
Defeated Stuart, 69-46, 2/18; Edison, 49-31, 2/21

Others receiving votes:

H.D. Woodson (DCIAA)

Stonewall Jackson (Prince William)

Surrattsville (Prince George’s County)

Click HERE to view the Washington, D.C. Area page of Digitalsports.com.

*Teams
considered for the Beltway Ballers poll include those in the DCIAA,
Loudoun County, Montgomery County, Northern Region, Prince George’s
County, Prince William County, Southern Maryland Athletic Conference,
and WCAC, as well as other independent private schools*

Wish to chime in on the Beltway Ballers Poll? E-mail James A. McCray III

[!] Flag as Inappropriate

Processing your request, Please wait....

Report as:	Violent or Repulsive Content|Hateful or Abusive Content|Harmful Dangerous Acts|Child Abuse|Spam|Infringes My Rights
Write in Words: (Optional)

Boys Beltway Basketball

Top-10 Rankings

This week’s DigitalSports Beltway Ballers top-10 poll shuffles up a bit as DeMatha picked up a victory over Gonzaga; Despite a small drop in the standings from Friendly, the same top-10 teams remain in this week’s poll.

*Records as of Monday, Feb. 23*

1. Montrose Christian (Ind.) 20-1;   LW: 1
Defeated Ballou High School, 2/20

2. Springbrook (Montgomery County) 21-0;   LW: 2
Defeated Wootton, 66-46, 2/17; Quince Orchard, 54-52, 2/20

3. DeMatha (WCAC) 23-3;   LW: 6
Defeated Gonzaga, 68-65, 2/20

4. Chantilly (Northern Region); 22-1  LW: 5
Defeated Centreville, 82-61, 2/19; Westfield, 2/20, 67-46

5. Gonzaga (WCAC) 24-4;   LW: 4
Defeated Bishop Irenton, 69-54, 2/20; Lost to DeMatha, 68-65, 2/20

6. Lackey (SMAC) 17-1;   LW: 7
Defeated North Point, 86-77 (OT), 2/20

7. Friendly (Prince George’s County) 19-2;   LW: 3
Lost to Potomac, 79-76, 2/17; Defeated Gwynn Park, 56-43, 2/20

8. T.C. Williams (Northern Region) 23-2;   LW: 8
Defeated South County, 82-50, 2/17; Lee, 77-71 (OT), 2/19; Annandale, 76-57, 2/20

9. Mount Vernon (Northern Region) 19-4;   LW: 9
Defeated Yorktown, 64-55, 2/18, Stuart, 55-50, 2/20

10. Laurel (Prince George’s County) 17-5;   LW: 10
Defeated Suitland, 70-45, 2/17; C.H. Flowers, 63-53, 2/20;

Others receiving votes:

Bowie (Prince George’s County)

Click HERE to view the Washington, D.C. Area page of DigitalSports.com.

*Teams
considered for the Beltway Ballers poll include those in the DCIAA,
Loudoun County, Montgomery County, Northern Region, Prince George’s
County, Prince William County, Southern Maryland Athletic Conference,
and WCAC, as well as other independent private schools.*

Wish to chime in on the Beltway Ballers Poll? E-mail James A. McCray III

[!] Flag as Inappropriate

Processing your request, Please wait....

Report as:	Violent or Repulsive Content|Hateful or Abusive Content|Harmful Dangerous Acts|Child Abuse|Spam|Infringes My Rights
Write in Words: (Optional)

By Angela Watts
Assistant GM, Washington D.C. Metro Area

** Click the links above to access a full photo gallery and dozens of video highlights from Thursday’s semifinal games!

It was a subtle — but clear — message.

And it’s likely that there wasn’t a soul in Lake Braddock’s gym Thursday night that missed it.

As has become tradition, top-seeded T.C. Williams was introduced as one solitary unit before the start of the Patriot District semifinal doubleheader. There was no starting lineup read, no players running through the long tunnel of cheerleaders and no chest-bumping at the end of the line.

Instead, the No. 8 Titans, as they always do, simply walked through the tunnel before gathering at mid-court.

But as senior point guard Gavin Peterson, the first Titan to emerge through the tunnel, turned the corner toward mid-court he paused. Peterson quickly, but pointedly, flashed the “Dynasty” symbol that has become synonymous with T.C. Williams basketball.

No words were needed.

The Titans had won 68 consecutive games against league opponents over a four-year span entering the semifinal. And while fifth-seeded Lee got a dramatic, buzzer-beating three-pointer from junior guard Deonta Gatlin to push T.C. Williams to overtime Thursday night it was the Titans who once again emerged on top, 77-71.

So make it 69 and counting.

“Everyone knows that to win the district you have to go through T.C.,” said Annandale Coach Anthony Harper, whose third-seeded Atoms team jumped to a big, early lead and held on for a 76-64 victory over second-seeded Hayfield in the nightcap to earn a date with the Titans in tonight’s championship game.

“If Lee had beaten T.C. and we’d have won [Friday] night, you’d kind of have to put an asterisk next to the championship game. Because you can’t win this district without beating T.C. That’s just how it is. You have to beat the best to say you are the best.

“Now we have that chance.”

The Titans advanced to defend their championship by withstanding a furious rally by the Lancers, who found themselves with an early, 12-0 deficit to start the game.

But behind the play of senior forward Frank Holloway, Jr., (game-high 28 points), junior guard Walter Griffin (20) and junior forward Fenan Woldu (16), Lee battled all the way back, knotting the score at 57 on a Woldu three-pointer with 1:16 to play.

Still, T.C. Williams survived on the strength of its big three — junior center Billy Rowland (team-high 22 points), junior swingman Ryan Yates (20) and senir guard E.J. Jenkins (19). While Rowland and Yates shined in regulation — including hitting clutch free throws in the game’s final minutes — it was Jenkins who took over the extra frame.

Jenkins got a key steal and scored six points in the final 2 minutes, 15 seconds of overtime alone.

“We had a chance to use E.J. as a decoy early in the game and get the ball away from him and get some other guys scoring,” T.C. Williams Coach Julian King said. “And when we do that, we know that’s going to open up some scoring opportunities for him later on the game when we need him most.”

Much like their counterparts in Friday’s finale, Annandale burst out-of-the-gate in its semifinal pairing and jumped to a 10-0 lead over Hayfield.

Atoms’ sophomore guard D’Angelo Boyce exploded for 19 of his game-high 26 points in the first-half to help his team build as much as a 32-19 lead with 5:10 remaining in the first half.

“After the last game at Hayfield he thought he played real bad,” Harper said of Boyce. “So he thought that he needed to come out this game and step up. And when a player comes out and is feeling it like he was tonight, you just keep going with it. You keep it rolling.”

But just as Lee had in the game prior, Hayfield kept fighting. The Hawks, led by senior center Laurent “Lolo” Newsome (team-high 18 points), sophomore forward Tayron Gibson (17) and senior forward T.J. Wilson (16), closed the gap to just two by half time.

Annandale answered every Hayfield run, however, and never relinquished its lead. In addition to Boyce, three other Atoms finished in double-figures scoring, including sophomore foward Melvin Robinson (13), and senior guards Allen Stalp (12) and John Welsh (12).

“We’ve been through it before,” Harper added. “A lot of games this season were close coming down the stretch … so somehow we seem to just work it out and get through it.” 

The same can be said of the Titans, who have weathered several close games — and a few overtime periods — this season and have always come out on top. In fact, T.C. Williams swept the regular-season series against Annandale but needed a buzzer-beating shot by Yates to defeat the Atoms, 67-66, on Jan. 26.

“I think those tight games may be harder for the fans than us,” King said, smiling. “We just stay together because we expect to win every game.

“But the truth is this: The regular-season was great and it was great going 14-0. But it doesn’t mean anything if we don’t win the championship.”

Email: awatts@digitalsports.com

GAME 1
Lee                               7  14  17  24    9 — 71
No. 8 T.C. Williams    12  15  14  21  15 — 77

Lee — Holloway 11 6-6 28; Griffin 5 6-6 20; Woldu 5 3-6 16; Gatlin 3 0-2 7. Team totals: 24 15-20 71. T.C. Williams — Rowland 7 8-10 22; Yates 7 4-6 20; Jenkins 7 5-6 19; Via 3 0-1 7; Peterson 2 0-0 4; Sitton 1 1-2 3; Taylor 1 0-0 2. Team totals: 28 18-25 77. Three-pointers — Lee 8 (Griffin 4, Woldu 3, Gatlin); T.C. Williams 3 (Yates 2, Via).

GAME 2
Annadale                  26  13  16  21 — 76
Hayfield                    15  22  15  22 — 74

Annandale — Boyce 10 3-4 26; Robinson 5 3-4 13; Stalp 4 3-5 12; Welsh 6 0-0 12; Ziegler 3 2-2 8; Williams 1 0-0 3; Samey 1 0-0 2. Team totals: 30 11-15 76. Hayfield — Newsome 9 0-0 18; Gibson 7 2-4 17; Wilson 8 0-2 16; Winbush 2 3-4 8; Canady 3 0-0 7; Tate 2 0-0 4; Rigans 1 0-0 2; King 1 0-0 2. Team totals: 33 5-10 74. Three-pointers — Annandale 5 (Boyce 3, Stalp, Williams); Hayfield 3 (Canady, Gibson, Winbush).

[!] Flag as Inappropriate

Processing your request, Please wait....

Report as:	Violent or Repulsive Content|Hateful or Abusive Content|Harmful Dangerous Acts|Child Abuse|Spam|Infringes My Rights
Write in Words: (Optional)

By Phil Murphy
Senior Multimedia/Content Editor
Washington, D.C. Metropolitan Area

Photo Gallery:
Click Here

Video Galleries:
First Half         Second Half

Due to audio difficulties, post-game interviews are unavailable

When asked about her team’s mindset as T.C. Williams seeks its fourth-straight Patriot District title, first-year Titan coach Cavanaugh Hagen thought through her words carefully.

“We have a district championship to protect,” she ultimately said.

That mentality — the Titans’ white-knuckled grip on the Patriot trophy — was evidenced in the district semifinals on Wednesday night as T.C. Williams survived an Annandale scare to win, 65-52, at Lake Braddock.

“We have to play on every court as if it’s our home,” Titan sophomore Jasmine Norman said. “That’s what Coach tells us, ‘Play every court like it’s home and wear “Titans” proud on our shirts.'”

The wake-up call came at halftime in the Titan locker room.

And it came after the Atoms traded leads with the three-time defending district champions throughout entirety of the second quarter.

Annandale used the physicality of junior Aby Diop down low and the steady shooting of senior Alexis Williams and junior Nikki Clarke to keep pace with heavily-favored T.C. Williams.

Titan star guard Tierra Ruffin-Pratt was held to five points and committed two fouls in that first half and T.C. Williams only led by four points at the intermission.

“We match up well with T.C., we feel like,” Annandale coach Cleveland Williams said. “[Ruffin]-Pratt — she’s going to North Carolina next year — but we feel we have good players that can be physical with her and follow her around.

“Our girls executed our game plan and, without execution, it doesn’t matter how good of a game plan you have.”

Another Achilles’ heel to perfect planning — at least in basketball — is foul trouble. And the Titans had plenty of it.

T.C. Williams, as a team, committed 13 first-half fouls and Annandale was shooting one-and-ones with over 6 minutes left in the second quarter.

Most notably, Titan senior Khalia Boston, the team’s second leading scorer, committed her fourth foul with 2:55 left in the first half.

Boston, who scored eight first-quarter points, only played 15 total minutes and was held scoreless after her explosive opening period.

“That was part of the game plan,” said Williamson, whose team beat Lee by 10 points on the road on Tuesday night to reach the semifinals. “We wanted to take it at them and get them in foul trouble. We knew that was the only way. If we set back on our heels, we thought that we would be at a disadvantage.”

With the Titans suddenly facing an uphill battle, they turned to sophomore starter Norman to make up for Boston’s absence. Norman scored 10 of her 16 points in the second half and was 8-for-10 on free throws.

Norman’s point total was topped only by Ruffin-Pratt’s game-high 17 points, nine of which came from the line on just 10 attempts.

“I just have to rely on my teammates and make sure that I’m playing my game,” said Norman, a first-year varsity player. “I can’t change the pace of my game just because one of my players is out. I have to be on my A-game, be a leader and make sure that I’m playing well.”

Now, T.C. Williams stands a third win over West Springfield away from its fourth-straight district championship, which would also make 39 straight Patriot wins. That position is a far cry from the Titans’ 0-2 start in Hagen’s inaugural season. 

But Hagen, a former three-year varsity player at T.C. Williams, never doubted her team’s potential to contend for yet another district title.

“We played good teams early so it prepares us down the line,” said Hagen, whose season-opening losses were to No. 9 Forest Park and No. 10 Mount Vernon. “We played amazing teams at the [Crescent Bank Holiday] Tournament and saw competition I’d never seen at the high-school level.

“For us to play better teams, I think made us better as a whole.”

Email: pmurphy@digitalsports.com

          Annandale      16  13  10  13  —  52
No. 8 T.C. Williams  20  13  14  18  —  65

Annandale — Williams 5 5-8 16; Diop 6 1-1 13; Clarke 3 5-6 12; Hughes 2 0-0 6; Yaroch 1 1-2 3; Hennessey 0 2-2 2.
Team totals: 17 14-19 52.
T.C. Williams — Ruffin-Pratt 4 9-10 17; Norman 4 8-10 16; Boston 3 1-2 8; Fikes 3 2-2 8; Huggins 2 2-2 6; Thorne 2 2-4 6; Campbell 2 0-0 4.
Team totals: 20 24-30 65.
Three-pointers — Annandale 4 (Hughes 2, Williams, Clarke); T.C. Williams 1 (Boston).

[!] Flag as Inappropriate

Processing your request, Please wait....

Report as:	Violent or Repulsive Content|Hateful or Abusive Content|Harmful Dangerous Acts|Child Abuse|Spam|Infringes My Rights
Write in Words: (Optional)

CHECK BACK EVERY NIGHT FOR SCORES AS GAMES GO FINAL!!

Please email scores to: pmurphy@digitalsports.com

*Rankings listed are teams’ district seeding

Boys’ Basketball

FEBRUARY 17
Quarterfinals
No. 1 T.C. Williams 82, No. 8 South County 50
No. 5 Lee 50, No. 4 Lake Braddock 48
No. 3 Annandale 83, No. 6 West Springfield 71
No. 2 Hayfield 58, No. 7 West Potomac 34

FEBRUARY 19
Semifinals
T.C. Williams 77, Lee 71 (OT)
Annandale 76, Hayfield 74

FEBRUARY 20
Final
T.C. Williams 76, Annandale 57

First Round of Regionals:
Lee at Langley
Hayfield at W.T. Woodson
Madison at Annandale
McLean at T.C. Williams

Girls’ Basketball

FEBRUARY 17
Quarterfinals
No. 1 T.C. Williams 77, No. 8 West Potomac 13
No. 5 Annandale 57, No. 4 Lee 57
No. 3 South County 42, No. 6 Lake Braddock 29
No. 2 West Springfield 62, No. 7 Hayfield 35

FEBRUARY 18
Semifinals
T.C. Williams 65, Annandale 52
West Springfield 35, South County 25

FEBRUARY 20
Final
T.C. Williams 59, West Springfield 53

First Round of Regionals:
Woodson at T.C. Williams
Langley at West Springfield
South County at South Lakes
Annandale at Madison

[!] Flag as Inappropriate

Processing your request, Please wait....

Report as:	Violent or Repulsive Content|Hateful or Abusive Content|Harmful Dangerous Acts|Child Abuse|Spam|Infringes My Rights
Write in Words: (Optional)

Girls Beltway Basketball

Top-10 Rankings

This week’s DigitalSports Beltway Ballers poll is a slight mirror image of last week’s; the top nine teams hold steady and a new team enters at No. 10 this week.

*Records as of Monday, Feb. 16*

1. Riverdale Baptist (Ind.) 17-2;   LW:1
Defeated Stonewall Jackson, 65-37, 2/12

2. Eleanor Roosevelt (Prince George’s County) 15-1;   LW:2
Defeated Laurel, 68-36, 2/13

3. Oakton (Northern Region) 22-0;   LW: 3
Defeated Centreville, 66-48, 2/13

4. Paint Branch (Montgomery County) 18-2;   LW: 4
Defeated Montgomery Blair, 99-50, 2/10; Wootton, 74-58, 2/13

5. Good Counsel (WCAC) 20-3;   LW: 5
Defeated Bishop O’Connell, 79-70, 2/10; Paul VI, 56-39, 2/12

6. Largo (Prince George’s County) 18-2;   LW: 6
Defeated Potomac, 91-31, 2/10; Friendly, 75-35, 2/13

7. North Point (SMAC) 19-1;   LW: 7
Defeated Westlake, 54-39, 2/11; Northern, 63-31, 2/13

8. T.C. Williams (Northern Region);   LW: 8
Defeated  Lake Braddock, 60-42, 2/10; Hayfield, 86-49, 2/13

9. Forest Park (Prince William);   LW: 9
Defeated Woodbridge, 55-53, 2/10; Gar-Field, 59-29, 2/13

10. Mount Vernon (Northern Region);   LW: N/R
Defeated Yorktown, 51-44, 2/12

Others receiving votes:

H.D. Woodson (DCIAA)

Stonewall Jackson (Prince William)

Surrattsville (Prince George’s County)

Click HERE to view the Washington, D.C. Area page of Digitalsports.com.

*Teams
considered for the Beltway Ballers poll include those in the DCIAA,
Loudoun County, Montgomery County, Northern Region, Prince George’s
County, Prince William County, Southern Maryland Athletic Conference,
and WCAC, as well as other independent private schools*

Wish to chime in on the Beltway Ballers Poll? E-mail James A. McCray III

[!] Flag as Inappropriate

Processing your request, Please wait....

Report as:	Violent or Repulsive Content|Hateful or Abusive Content|Harmful Dangerous Acts|Child Abuse|Spam|Infringes My Rights
Write in Words: (Optional)

Created by Phil Murphy
Senior Multimedia/Content Manager
Washington D.C. Metropolitan Area

Top 10 Plays — February 9-15, 2009

Click
the video on the left for the full countdown of the Top 10 plays from
across the seven DigitalSports territories in the greater Washington,
D.C. Metro area.

You can also view the full list of top plays
below. Click on the titles to view the individual, unedited highlights
at respective homepages.

Check back every Monday morning for the new Top 10 countdown from around the metropolitan area.

To nominate and upload plays or accomplishments from your school:

**CLICK HERE**

Honorable Mentions (in no order):
Oh Barrage’a-Trois — Walter Johnson guard Nash Oh hits three consecutive jumpers from the same spot in the Wildcats’ 54-40 win over the Vikings.
Johnson Dunakalicious — Gar-Field’s Jeremiah Johnson gets two contested, two-handed dunks against Forest Park.
Johnson scored 18 points to help lead the Indians into a first-place
tie with C.D. Hylton in the Cardinal District. A one-game playoff will be on Tuesday to determine the No. 1 seed.
Jansen Quad — Osbourn’s Devin Jansen is a quadruple winner at the Northwest Region swimming championships. He won the boys’ 50-free, 100-free and was a part of the Eagles’ winning 200-medley relay and 400-free relay.
Smith High Rise — Thomas Stone junior Kendal Smith goes the length of the court for a jam in the Cougars’ 12-point win over their rival Hurricanes.
McDade Dunk-a-Thon — Bowie’s Trevor McDade gets two dunks in
Monday’s 61-59 win over Bladensburg. More from this game in the countdown
Buchanan Beats Third-Quarter Buzzer — In Freedom’s historic district title in girls hoops — its first of any kind in
school history — Eagle center Kelsey Buchanan hustling length of court of
court for lay-in to beat the third-quarter buzzer in a 49-42 win at Loudoun County.
Billy 4 Pins, 8 Minutes — Lake Braddock senior George Billy wins his third Northern Region title and eyes his fourth state championship — third in Virginia — next week. His four pins came in a total of 8 minutes, 12 seconds at regionals. Billy is 184-9 in his four-year career.

No. 10 — Beau Knows Titles
Prince William County, Virginia — Battlefield senior Beau Martino — ranked No. 1 at 112-pounds in Virginia — is 6-2 all-time against Fauquier Ryan Hunsberger — ranked No. 2. The two finalists in last year’s 103-pound state final met in the Northwest Region final on Tuesday and Martino’s near fall won the match, 6-1, in overtime.

No. 9 — Brandon Coleman Block Party
W.C.A.C, Maryland — McNamara junior forward Brandon Coleman recorded nine blocks in Friday’s six-point home loss to Gonzaga, even while sitting the final four minutes. He also had a smooth alley-oop slam.

No. 8 — Thigpen is Mightier
Prince William County, Virginia — Stonewall Jackson senior Damien Thigpen — on scholarship for track and football at UCLA — won the boys’ 55-meter (6.39 seconds) and 300-meter (34.68, meet record) dashes at the Cedar Run District indoor meet. He was also a part of the Raiders’ gold-medal 4×200 team (1:31.29, meet record).

No. 7 — Batts Swings Big Stick
Loudoun County, Virginia — Loudoun County sophomore Brittany Batts hits a 3-pointer from the half-court, “LC” logo just for fun — no buzzer, no pressure, just an open look. The Raiders lost to the Eagles of Freedom-South Riding, 49-42.

No. 6 — Oakton Snaps Streak
Northern Region, Virginia — Robinson entered the Northern Region swim and dive championships with six-straight regional and state titles. The Cougars, though, did not allow the streak to reach seven years, edging the Rams 232.00 to 230.80. The teams are favorites going into next week’s Virginia AAA state championship.

No. 5 — Dancing Anas
I.A.C., Maryland— Landon sophomore Sam Anas dekes by two defenders and places this wrsiter over the Georgetown Prep goalie’s glove hand. The Bears won the I.A.C. title, 5-4.

No. 4 — T-Ruff Blows Up Senior Night
Northern Region, Virginia — On the night her No.4 Titans’ jersey was retired, T.C. Williams senior Tierra Ruffin-Pratt — signed to North Carolina — scored 40 points in a win over district rival Hayfield.

No. 3 — Different DeAndre, Same Drama
Loudoun County, Virginia — Dominion junior DeAndre Reaves — on a pass from senior DeAndre Albritton — hits a buzzer-beating, game-winning 3-pointer against Broad Run. The Titans won, 63-60.

No. 2 — G.P. Are You With Me
Prince George’s County, Maryland — Gwynn Park Tion Coates is on the receiving end of two fourth-quarter alley-oops in the Yellow Jackets’ 73-51 over the Hornets.

Alley-Oop 1   Alley-Oop 2

No. 1 — Jordan For the Win … Got It!
Prince George’s County, Maryland  — With the score tied at 59 and :10.6 seconds on the clock, Bulldog senior Mike Ewii‘s potential game-winner rattles off. But junior teammate Kyle Jordan gathers the rebound and uses his finger tips to redirect the game-winning, buzzer-beating bucket through the net.

Email: pmurphy@digitalsports.com

CLICK HERE FOR THE TOP 10 PLAYS FROM JAN 25-31

CLICK HERE FOR THE TOP 10 PLAYS FROM FEB 9-15

[!] Flag as Inappropriate

Processing your request, Please wait....

Report as:	Violent or Repulsive Content|Hateful or Abusive Content|Harmful Dangerous Acts|Child Abuse|Spam|Infringes My Rights
Write in Words: (Optional)