Girls score: 51-30, Langley
Boys score: 42-27, McLean
The age-old rivalry between McLean and Langley gained another chapter in their extensive basketball history books, as the Highlanders traveled to the home of the Saxons in the final school event of the 2022 calendar year. Followed by an entourage of McLean students, amped up more than usual due to the beginning of winter break, the boys and girls basketball teams came into their games with vivacity.
“The kids all know each other from growing up so close to each other and playing against each other. There’s a natural rivalry to it,” boys head coach Mike O’Brien said. “It’s always the biggest crowd of the year. Both sets of fans get into it. It’s an awesome environment to play in.”
The girls team, whose game started first, looked to follow the high-tempo game plan set by head coach Jen Sobota in practice.
“The faster we’re able to play, [we can] get some of our top scorers quick opportunities, and if they’re not scoring, it allows the opportunity for offensive rebounds,” Sobota said. “Our first few drills focus on getting the rebound, outletting quickly, and getting up the floor.”
The boys, fresh off a trouncing at the hands of the Marshall Statesmen, were looking to get a momentum-boosting win before the hiatus of winter break.
“We lost our last game pretty badly,” junior guard Caffrey Eaton said. “[The loss] was a wake-up call for us. We know it’s the Langley game, we know there’s going to be a lot of fans there. It’s our time.”
The long night started as the McLean girls team got off to a slow start, with both teams eventually settling into a drawn-out, physical slugfest. Bodies flew every which way, and the Highlanders quickly found themselves in foul trouble, reaching double-digit foul numbers before the end of the first half.
Despite the efforts of players like senior Shushan Krikorian and junior Ava Stewart, McLean trailed 35-27 at halftime. The game, which had seemed very winnable for most of the contest, began to slip out of McLean’s hands as the third quarter went on. Poor rebounding and a high amount of turnovers compounded to shift the momentum entirely into Langley’s hands as the game entered the home stretch.
The physical nature of the game continued into the fourth quarter, as many loose balls and bad passes found their way into the hands of a Saxon. Langley’s fast pace continually wore down the Highlanders, who were not reaching very deep into their bench to rest their starters.
“We just got rattled, and we were playing very panicky,” Stewart said.
The Saxons pulled ahead to lead by 14 with less than five minutes remaining, and that was the closest McLean would get the rest of the way. As the buzzer rang, the scoreboard read 51-30 in favor of the Saxons, leaving McLean with an unfortunate taste after the first game of the night.
The crowd regained its fervor once the boys game tipped off, as junior Isaac Bell trumped Langley senior Patrick Kelly to start the game in McLean’s favor. Although a quick three-pointer from senior Daniel Fimbres—along with an airballed three-pointer from Langley senior Sam Carton—gave the early momentum to McLean, the pace quickly ground to a stop, and stout defense from both sides led to the first quarter ending with a score of 6-5, Highlanders leading.
Early on in the season, McLean has established its prowess defensively, routinely using players such as Eaton and senior Jakob Luu to trap the ball in the back-court and force turnovers. The hard-nosed style of play, championed especially by the senior center Jimmy Higgins, consistently results in breakaway gameplay—a strategy used heavily against Langley which the Highlanders hope to keep up throughout the season.
“Our mentality was to play defense, and our defense would turn into offense,” Eaton said.
McLean led 13-7 at half in an extremely low-scoring affair—exactly two weeks prior, the same Langley squad which had gone 5 minutes without a point had scored 75 points in a game against the Madison Warhawks. The old adage of all rules and expectations going out the window in a rivalry game was being proven true once more.
Fimbres and Bell got the half started with quick baskets, and a huge three-pointer from Luu put McLean firmly in control of the game. Langley instituted a Highlander-esque system of full-court pressure, and McLean experienced problems trying to break out of it. In a game where it seemed like both rims had lids on them, it was truly coming down to which side was going to work harder for the win.
Langley pulled within six points after an exciting hustle play from Luu was negated by a questionable foul call against McLean and quickly turned into three points on the other end. Despite McLean having issues with rebounding all throughout the game, they were able to pull the boards down when it counted. Big lay-ins for senior Max Worrel and free throws for Eaton—complete with a communal bowl of trash-talking—sealed the deal for McLean, who won the game 42-27.
Over several hours of basketball, McLean’s electric student section never wavered, and their dedication paid off when they stormed the court after the win amidst chants of “This is our house!” The victory was a huge moment for McLean’s team, and one that will certainly be fresh in the minds of both squads when they face each other again, at McLean, on Jan. 24.
“We took our matchups very seriously and it worked,” Eaton said. “It was an absolutely incredible feeling when we won the game. It’s something you never forget.”
