Of the two Arlington squads that played in the annual eight-team George Long Holiday Hoops Tournament, the host Wakefield Warriors placed highest.
The boys high-school basketball team (8-2 overall) ended up in fifth place with a 2-1 record, playing in three close games in the popular 23-year-old holiday event, the only one of its kind in the county.
Arlington’s Washington-Liberty Generals (6-4) placed seventh with a 1-2 mark, also having tight contests.
“We had some close games against tough competition and we played well at times,” Wakefield coach and tournament director Tony Bentley told ARLnow.
Wakefield’s final game was a 56-53 win against the private-school Maret Frogs of D.C. on Dec. 29. In that contest, there were seven lead changes and a tie before Wakefield built a 15-point lead late in the third quarter, then survived a furious fourth-period Maret rally, sparked by a barrage of three-pointers.
Maret had the game’s final possession, but wasn’t able to make the tying three-point basket.
Bentley voiced concern about how Maret was able to rally near the end. “We have to learn to close out games,” he said.
Senior guard Jeremiah Poole led Wakefield in scoring against Maret with 25 points, hitting his final five shots from the floor. He also had seven rebounds, three assists and two steals.
Poole was chosen to the all-tournament team. He scored 63 points in the three tourney games.
Also against Maret, center Zak Amadou had 10 points and four rebounds, guard Dyson Beaty had eight points and three assists, guard Tre’Sean Evans scored five with five rebounds, guard Tyson Ordenes had three points, four rebounds and three steals, and forward Rayvon Hackley had four points and three rebounds off the bench.
“We finished 2-1 playing three tough games. This tournament will make us a better team,” Bentley said.
In a seesaw Dec. 26 contest, Wakefield lost to the Fairfax Lions, 58-51, in its opening game, then defeated the two-time defending Class 6 public-school state champion South Lakes Seahawks, 57-47, in its second game Dec. 27.
Against Fairfax, the game had eight ties and seven lead changes and Wakefield shot poorly from the floor (30%).
Poole led the Warriors in scoring with 22 points. Hackley had seven points and four rebounds, with Ordenes having five points and four boards and Tyree Bowman scoring five with three rebounds. Amadou had six rebounds, three steals and two points.
In the win over South Lakes, Wakefield led the entire game. Amadou scored 23 points and had five rebounds. Poole scored 16 with two steals, Ordenes had nine points and three steals, and Evans had four points and seven boards.
Wakefield is a four-time previous champion of the event, last winning the title in 2015. The Warriors were second in 2023.
Washington-Liberty was missing different key players for all three games of the tournament.
In its final contest, Washington-Liberty defeated South Lakes, 59-42, after trailing 12-2 in the first quarter. The Generals rallied within 22-21 at halftime and pulled away in the second half. The loss snapped a three-game losing streak.
“The second half was the best half of basketball we have played this season so far,” W-L coach Bobby Dobson said about the win over South Lakes. “I thought we could win this tournament. We are better than what we played in this tournament.”
Senior center and all-tournament selection Carmichael Williams had 18 points, eight rebounds and four steals against South Lakes. He scored 51 points in the three games.
“No. 52 [Williams] was very active in this game,” Dobson said. “We didn’t start well, but we stayed with it and had fun.”
Washington-Liberty forward Luke Jones was active off the bench in the win with 14 points, four rebounds and four steals. Adam Dodini had nine points and two assists, and Gabe Smith scored five with three assists. Mitchell Tuvshin and Derick Moore scored five each and forward Sean Allen had five rebounds and a block.
Washington-Liberty lost Centreville, 54-50, in its first game then fell to Maret, 56-49, in its second.
The Generals fell behind 14-2 early, were hurt by 21 turnovers against Centreville and didn’t shoot well from the floor (32%). Williams had 12 points and Jones had nine points, 10 rebounds, three blocked shots, three assists and two steals. Allen had seven points, eight rebounds and two steals.
The Generals eventually rallied as the game became close and produced nine ties and five lead changes.
Against Maret, the lead seesawed in the first half until Maret moved ahead for good in the third quarter. Williams had a double-double with 21 points and 10 rebounds, Dodini and Nikolai Wheeler scored nine each and Smith scored five and had four assists.
The Generals have played in the tournament almost every year, with their highest finish second in 2022.
Forest Park of Prince William County won the tournament with a 3-0 record, defeating Colonial Forge of Stafford, 51-43, in the Dec. 29 championship game. Centreville defeated Fairfax, 44-36, in the third-place consolation game.
Other members of the all-tournament team were Emerson Finney of South Lakes, Cole Riley of Maret, Josh Narcisse of Fairfax, Timmy Girguis of Centreville, Jaidyn Johnson and TaySean Jones of Colonial Forge and Ernest Akese, Keon Alston and Most Valuable Player Antonio Jones of Forest Park.
