McLean’s boys basketball team earned a gritty 71-63 win over Herndon on Tuesday night. This game was a turning point for a group that has been on the wrong side of a few tight finishes. The game began in messy fashion for the Highlanders; passes sailed off target, plays ended in turnovers and Herndon made them pay for nearly every mistake.
Herndon was hitting jump shots from all over the court and playing with the confidence of a team in full control. Mclean looked stuck and the early minutes belonged entirely to the Hornets.
Herndon’s forward Charlie Morgan was dialed in from the very start of this game. He came out and scored the first seven points of the game and ultimately continued his domination throughout the first half.
Nothing seemed to calm the Highlanders until the final seconds of the first half. Senior guard Nick Karageorgos pulled up from deep and knocked down a tough shot just before the buzzer. It cut the Herndon lead to only eight and finally gave McLean something to build on.
“That shot helped us settle down,” sophomore guard Lucas Van Order said. “We knew we had given them too much in the first half, but that moment reminded us we still had a chance.”
The Highlanders came out of the locker room with a different look. They slowed down and started getting the stops they had missed earlier. The third quarter was a steady climb rather than a quick burst, but it showed the team was back in the fight.
Mclean came out of the half scoring seven straight points and forcing Herndon to call an early timeout. This was the first huge momentum shift that got the highlanders in a good rhythm.
Senior forward Jake Bell found his rhythm too. Early shots that rattled out began to fall, and he kept the offense steady when things tightened up. His drives and mid range jumpers forced Herndon to adjust, which opened space for the rest of the lineup.
On the boards, senior forward Aidan Iftoni kept the Highlanders alive. He grabbed several key offensive rebounds that led to second chance points and helped pull the game within reach. Each putback chipped away at Herndon’s confidence.
“We always talk about being tougher at halftime,” sophomore forward Nahom Kidane said. “Once we locked in, things started going our way. Aidan gave us so many extra chances. Plays like that really wear a team down.”
The fourth quarter was all McLean. The Highlanders held Herndon to only two points, smothering every drive and closing out on every shooter. On offense they moved the ball with patience and attacked the rim instead of settling. The twenty point swing in that final stretch showed how far the momentum had shifted.
When the final horn sounded, McLean players looked more relieved than anything else. After losing two straight games by a combined five points, this comeback felt like a weight lifting off their shoulders.
“We needed a win like this,” Van Order said. “Not just the final score but the way we fought back.”
For McLean, the night was more than a strong finish. It was a sign that the group is learning how to close games even when the start is far from perfect.
“We have a long stretch of home games coming up,” Kidane said. “As long as we are fighting as hard as we can we know we can play with anybody.”
