As fans walked into the Langley Saxons gym on Tuesday night, they could feel a fierce tension in the air. The McLean Boys Varsity basketball team travelled to face their rivals on Tuesday February 18th, only this time in a survive-and-advance District quarterfinal matchup, with an automatic bid to the regional tournament on the line.
The Saxons had already bested the Highlanders twice in the regular season, including rushing McLean’s home court after 59-50 win just last week. All McLean players, coaches and fans had the stakes on their mind, with every Highlander in the building knew something had to change this time around.
“It was painful losing to them at home,” Head Coach Mike O’Brien said. “Having to come to their house on a Tuesday night, and having our fans out-cheer them during the whole game is unbelievable.”
Senior Avery Higgins, who was battling an ankle injury sustained in practice, grabbed the opening tipoff for the Highlanders. Junior Jake Bell captured the first points of the game after over 100 seconds of gameplay with two made free throws, his first two of 26 Points on the night.
“I’ve worked insanely hard over the entire offseason and even in the gym during warmups today,” Bell said. “Having my work finally pay off at the right time with shots constantly falling is pretty awesome.”
The two competitors went back and forth throughout the quarter, leaving the score at 10-10 all with two minutes left in the frame. It was then when senior Peter Stoss spun around his opponent, dropped him to his feet and nailed a layup to finish an incredible play. Bell then sank a three-pointer to put the away team up by five after a quarter of play.
The Saxons came roaring out for the second quarter, charging in with a 12-7 run to tie the game at 22 each with only five minutes left to go in the half. Langley even took the lead after three consecutive made free throws to take the lead 29-24. The Highlanders, down by five with less than a minute in the half, needed a score to break the tidal wave of Langley buckets.
Bell then flushed a three-pointer from near half court, to a loud eruption of cheers from McLean’s student section. Bell led the team with 17 Points going into halftime, with McLean down 29-27 heading into the locker room.
“In the locker room at halftime one of our coaches said all we have to do is focus on the next play,” O’Brien said. “If something goes wrong, just focus on the next thing. Our kids did a great job of executing that plan in the second half.”
The Highlanders came out of the locker room with a look of determination in their eyes, acknowledging the challenge they faced. However, after several missed foul calls on the Highlanders, McLean found themselves down 41-34 after a Saxons 8-0 run with two minutes left in the quarter. Despite the deficit, the Highlanders knew the game was still within grasp. Back to back threes by Jake Bell and senior Max Mullen pulled the Highlanders within two. A comeback was on the horizon.
“We only had a couple of slip-ups, making [Langley] play a slower game than they are used to,” O’Brien said. “Basketball is a game all about runs, and we finished with the final good run.”
Higgins began the fourth quarter with an improbable contested layup to tie the game at 42 apiece. This elicited the loudest cheer from the student section of the night. From then on out, it was all Highlanders. An 11-5 run in the quarter, led by Bell, Bowser, and Mullen’s heroics, practically sealed the win. The Saxons had lost their footing all together, fouling McLean players nearly ten separate times in the final minute of the game.
Chants of “This is over!” and “This is our house!” rang out from the student section in the final moments of the game. As the final buzzer sounded, an improbable District quarterfinal win was sealed with a final score of 61-49 in favor of the Highlanders. The students finally felt the sweet taste of victory, highlighted with a long overdue court rush as the away fans mobbed the McLean players in congratulatory cheers.
“Tonight's atmosphere was absolutely electric,” senior fan Will Saxon said. “It honestly felt like we had home field advantage with how many people showed up.”
With the win, the team will head to play the top seeded Yorktown Patriots on Wednesday night. In addition to a district semifinal bid, the Highlanders secured a spot in the regional tournament next week.
“We just have to play like we did today, even better honestly,” said Bell. “Yorktown is a pretty great team, so we just have to come out and take care of business.”
