McLean boys headed to Wakefield high school on Jan. 16 with optimism. Back to back district wins had the Highlanders at the top of the Liberty district standings at 5-0 in the district. The squad was humming, and their habit of last second winners had given them a pervading feeling of hope.
“We’re confident in our ability to win,” senior forward Roman Ludikowski. “We hope to have this one wrapped up before the last second.”
The game began as a tight-knit affair, with both teams trading baskets. Wakefield managed a couple short runs late in the quarter finishing the period up 19-17.
The second quarter began with much of the same, with the competitive nature of their affair resulting in a stretch of back and forth buckets
Senior forward Jake Bell looked determined to make a stand in the first half as his extreme defensive efforts and offensive rebounds helped the Highlanders gain momentum going into halftime.
The Highlanders were up by one going into halftime, with the momentum not leaning any which way. It looked as if this was yet another one headed to the buzzer.
“The coach just told us to stay disciplined,” sophomore guard Lucas Van Order said. “The shots would start falling but it wasn’t helping us that we were turning the ball over.”
But the Highlanders came out strong to start the third quarter, putting up back to back buckets to start the quarter. The run continued, putting up 7 straight before the warriors managed to claw back a couple buckets, ending the quarter down 46-40.
“We stepped up, we defended as a unit and that’s what sealed it,” Ludikowski said. “We didn’t get lazy, we still worked hard and got good shots.”
The Highlanders dominance continued in the fourth quarter, putting up short runs that stifled the warriors. Bell led the way with 29 points, aided by sophomore forward Nahome Kidane’s 13 and senior guard Nick Karageorgos’ 10. McLean finished the game up 11, with a solid, undramatic 67-56 victory.
“We had a good game today,” Kidane said. “We played good defense and we made our shots in the second half. We hope to take that into the Yorktown game.”
The team heads to Yorktown next, to face off against the Patriots where they will look to pick up their 6th district win.
“Yorktown has been in the back of our minds for a while,” Van Order said. “The team will be ready for this game and the challenges that may lie ahead.”
This game against the patriots is a chance to put the Highlanders in a firm position to win the district but it’s going to take a lot of teamwork and dedication to win this game.
The Highlanders are looking to defend the district title they ended up winning last year.
“We just win the games we are supposed to win,” Kidane said. “Coach puts us in a great position and it’s showing so far.”
