Highlanders win, 55-45.

Pink shirts flooded the home bleachers at McLean’s lower gym on Friday, Dec. 2, as the Highlanders showed out to support their boys varsity basketball team in their battle against the Oakton Cougars.

McLean was coming off of a tight win against Westfield at home on Tuesday, Nov. 29. The win kicked off their season with a bang and gave the team good momentum moving into this game.

“We feel pretty good,” senior Josh John said. “We were working in practice, doing our thing; we’re not really that nervous because we came prepared.”

After caps were placed across hearts and the home crowd emphatically declared McLean the “home of the Highlanders,” lineups were introduced. For the ‘Ders, the lights were shut off and the crowd lit up, energetically cheering on the home team’s starting five.

The first eight minutes after the opening tip, however, did not live up to the hype the crowd had just delivered. McLean started off slow, emphasizing patient ball movement on offense that gave them good control of the ball, but ultimately amounted to nothing, thanks to poor shooting, off the ball offensive fouls and turnovers. The Cougars didn’t see much more success; the Highlanders’ aggressive man-to-man pressure was enough to hold them to a single three pointer, ending the first quarter in favor of the home team, 6-3.

For the second quarter, both teams upped their pace a bit, and the raucous home crowd matched the energy. Oakton’s relatively meager student section began teasing the home fans and jeering at McLean’s players, but the taunts only fueled the Highlander fire—as the boys in white and red started making more aggressive cuts and effectively drew double teams to set up easy points in the paint, the crowd responded with rowdy cheers and booming responses to the Cougar camp’s jeering Drake verses.

While McLean’s defense stood strong, Oakton’s offense faltered in many spots, whether through turnovers or forced shots that simply weren’t sinking. The ‘Ders also drew many fouls, which they made good use of with fantastic conversion at the free throw line. Still, the game remained somewhat slow, and the first half ended 22-11 in favor of McLean.

After a halftime three on three scrimmage consisting of six young children who brought the crowd to their feet with consistent crossovers and impressive shooting from deep, the show went on, each team returning with a fire lit under them. The increased aggression once again favored McLean, but on a completely different level compared to the first half; threes started to sink for the home team, thanks to seniors Jakob Luu and Daniel Fimbres demanding the Cougars free up a man in order to double team them, lest they just run up the score themselves.

The aggression meant more fouls on both sides, but the Highlanders’ success at the free throw line continued, and paired with smothering man-to-man coverage that didn’t let Oakton hold the ball for longer than a few seconds, the third quarter ended with McLean leading 39-19.

After McLean’s fantastic third quarter, it was Oakton’s turn. The Cougars came out to a hot start, draining threes and interrupting McLean’s long passes to score easy fast break attempts. As was the story throughout the game, however, off the ball fouls and constant turnovers meant that the comeback faltered, especially as McLean began punishing Oakton’s full court press with long passes that lead to free points in the paint.

The fouling spree continued, and as teams entered the bonus, McLean’s free throw conversion proved clutch—Fimbres especially had a standout quarter, delivering at crucial moments at the foul line and ending the game with 17 points to his name.

The Highlanders’ persistent, aggressive defense paired well with their selfless offensive play, leading the team to a 55-45 victory. When both teams turned their jets on, McLean seemed to have a consistent advantage, combining long, stretching passes with invasive drives to keep Oakton’s defense unable to read them. Their third quarter was a standout performance, the momentum of which was able to drag them across the finish line in the face of a mounting comeback.

“We had a lot of high energy, so we were still riding off that,” Fimbres said. “It started creeping up on us; we got a little nervous, but we pulled it together.”

McLean will return to their home court on Saturday, Dec. 3, to face off against James-Madison at 7:30 PM.