In a close, seesaw showdown for first place in the Liberty District, the Yorktown Patriots fell short to the host Marshall Statesmen in recent boys basketball action.
Thanks to a 9-0 run, Marshall rallied from a 46-43 deficit in the final three minutes to win the Feb. 5 high-school game, 55-50. Yorktown missed four shots from the floor and one free throw during Marshall’s 9-0 stretch.
“It was two good teams playing, and we didn’t hit the shots at the end, and we needed to, and they did,” Yorktown coach Joe Keimig told ARLnow.
With the win, Marshall took over sole possession of first place, notching a 9-1 league mark with two games remaining. Yorktown stands alone in second place at 8-2 and 15-5 overall.
The Patriots have lost twice to Marshall this season.
Yorktown finished first in the regular season standings last season. To do so again, the Patriots would need Marshall to lose its final two league games, while Yorktown would have to win both.
There were nine ties and as many lead changes during the most recent Yorktown vs. Marshall game. Yorktown took a 3-0 lead, then trailed at the end of the first three quarters, 13-11 after one period, 27-23 at halftime and 40-39 after three. Yorktown’s last lead was 46-43 with 3:40 to play.
Marshall was sparked by making 11 three-pointers in the win. Yorktown made seven threes but was hurt in the first half with 11 turnovers.
The loss snapped Yorktown’s four-game winning streak.
Senior guard Jake Coulam made four three-pointers to lead Yorktown in scoring with 15 points to go with five rebounds. Junior forward James Davis had a double-double with 14 points and 10 rebounds, with two blocks and two assists.
Junior forward Garrett Schmelling scored nine with four boards, junior guard Sam Roosa had five points and two steals, and junior guard Walton Butler had a point and three assists.
In other recent boys basketball action:
Yorktown boys top Wakefield 64-48: Yorktown bounced back from the loss to Marshall by defeating the visiting Wakefield Warriors, 64-48, Feb. 6 in an all-Arlington clash. The win was Yorktown’s second over Wakefield this season and fourth in a row over two years.
Yorktown took control of the showdown by upping its tempo on offense to outscore Wakefield 22-4 in the second quarter. The Patriots were comfortably ahead the rest of the way.
“We settled in during the second quarter and got our game going,” Keimig said.
Wakefield fell to 12-8 overall and 4-6 in the district.
Coulam scored 15 with five rebounds, four assists and three steals against Wakefield. Davis scored nine with six rebounds.
Walton Butler had a busy game with seven points, five rebounds, two steals and an assist; Charlie Ganbaatar scored eight, with six boards; Peter Cullen also scored eight, with five boards; and Leo Sandoli scored six.
For Wakefield, guard Tyree Bowman scored 18 points off the bench, making four three-pointers. Zak Amadou had 12 points and three rebounds; Jeremiah Poole scored 10 with six boards; and Rayvon Hackley had six rebounds.
Wakefield boys defeat Langley in district action: Prior to facing Yorktown, Wakefield defeated the visiting Langley Saxons, 49-45, in district action.
Poole scored 18 points; Hackley scored five and had nine rebounds; Tyson Ordenes had seven points, six rebounds and two steals; Dyson Beaty scored seven; Amadou scored five with three boards and Tre’Sean Evans had two points and five rebounds.
Poole made two foul shots with three seconds left to seal the win. Poole’s three-point play with 4:12 in the fourth quarter gave Wakefield the lead for good at 38-37 in a game close throughout.
W-L boys put together two-game win streak: The Washington-Liberty Generals (10-10, 3-7) got on track with two straight home victories in district action last week to snap a three-game losing streak and climb in the standings.
The boys team shot well in both contests in defeating the Herndon Hornets, 71-54, then the McLean Highlanders, 67-62.
Prior to those wins, the Generals had not been shooting well, and their district record had suffered.
“We have made some lineup changes, we are shooting a lot better and playing more zone defense. That all has made a difference,” W-L coach Bobby Dobson told ARLnow.
“We are making the shots we need to make and now are being more responsible and playing like we thought we should have been all season,” Dobson said. “Hopefully we can keep it going.”
In the win over Herndon, Luke Jones scored 14 points; Gabe Smith had 13; Jack Cameron and Carmichael Williams each netted 12; Adam Dodini and Mitchell Tuvshin had six each; and Derick Moore scored five.
Dodini, Smith, Cameron and Williams were the top scorers against McLean, with Roy Smith having a key steal near the end of the game. The Generals shot 52% from the floor in that win.
Dodini led the scoring with 21 points, his single-game high for the season. Dodini made nine two-point baskets and hit 3 of 4 four shots. Williams had 12 points.
Washington-Liberty has two regular-season district games remaining, one against the first-place Marshall Statesmen, followed by a Friday, Feb. 13 all-Arlington road contest against Wakefield at 7:30 p.m.
The Generals lost to each earlier this season.
