The Bishop O’Connell Knights had short-lived, one-game stays in the girls and boys Washington Catholic Athletic Conference basketball tournaments, each finishing 0-1.
The fourth-seeded boys high-school team (22-9) lost to the visiting and No. 5 seed St. John’s, 65-57, in a first-round game. The sixth-seed O’Connell girls (17-15) fell on the road, 80-41, to the No. 3 seed Bishop Ireton Cardinals.
Ireton was ranked No. 1 in the Virginia Division I private school state poll at the time of that contest.
In the boys WCAC game, O’Connell trailed 19-11 at the end of the first quarter and was behind 28-22 at halftime, then 59-39 after three periods.
Matt Dalton made three three-pointers and scored 16 points to lead O’Connell in scoring, adding seven rebounds. Shane Lincoln scored 12 and had four assists.
Darius Bivins scored eight to go with seven rebounds and four assists, Leam Koelsch scored eight, and Wyatt Norton scored three and had as many rebounds.
O’Connell earned the fourth seed by defeating Carroll, 65-59, in its final regular-season contest.
Lincoln had a double-double in that outing, with 18 points and 10 rebounds to go with three steals. Aiden Caulker made a trio of three-pointers and scored 15 with four assists. Bivins scored 13 with eight boards and six assists. Norton had eight points and seven rebounds, and Makel Minor six points and four assists.
Prior to the tournament, Bivins was chosen as a first-team all-conference selection, with Lincoln making second team. Norton and Caulker received honorable-mention honors.
In the O’Connell girls’ loss to Ireton, the Knights fell behind early and were out of contention by halftime.
Before the WCAC tourney, O’Connell’s Daniya Brown was selected second-team all-conference, with Amanda Bates and Mia Morrill making honorable-mention.
After the WCAC tourney, the sixth-seed O’Connell girls went 0-1 in the Division I private-school state tournament, losing to visiting No. 11 seed Episcopal Maroon, 76-69.
NOTES: The 20-win season was the second in a row for the O’Connell boys … the O’Connell girls won more games this season and had a winning campaign under first-year head coach Kosa So than last season, when the Knights finished 14-16.
