Playing in its first game without leading scorer Dirk Williams, who was declared athletically ineligible just hours prior to tipoff Thursday, Williamsburg Christian Academy boys basketball coach Chris Gann said he was anxious to see how mentally ready his team would be stepping on the court for their annual showdown with town rival Walsingham.
The start was excellent – the Eagles came out firing from 3-point range and trailed by just two points (36-34) at halftime – but the finish was, well, not so much.
“We just ran out of gas,” said Gann, whose team was outscored 36-21 in the second half en route to suffering a 72-55 defeat on the Trojans’ court. “I was proud of the guys for how they refocused and thought we came out strong. We just didn’t have enough to keep it going, and Walsingham is a tough team.”
While WCA (0-11) ran out of gas in the second half, Walsingham (8-1), especially senior guard Brandon LaRose, was pedal to the metal.
LaRose had his strongest scoring output during the first half when he scored 17 of his career-high 31 points, but it was his leadership, poise and defense down the stretch that proved most beneficial for the Trojans.
LaRose had the unenviable assignment of marking versatile forward Jake Duncan, who led WCA with a team-high 21 points, but did a terrific job holding the future New Jersey Institute of Technology player to just seven points in the second half while Walsingham pulled away.
Thing is, players with tough defensive assignments usually sacrifice in the points column, but LaRose thrived on Thursday, and was at his best late scoring 12 of the Trojans’ 18 fourth-quarter points to keep WCA away for good. That doesn’t mean he won’t feel it tomorrow, though.
“Man, I’m so tired right now,” LaRose said after the game. “Chasing around Jake is crazy; he’s one of the best players in Williamsburg. I was just trying to look for my opportunities… We needed somebody to kick-start our offense, so I was just trying to put some points on the board.”
Neither side had trouble putting points on the board early.
The stars, LaRose and Duncan, exchanged bucket for bucket scoring nine and eight respectively in the quarter, although each team had role players step up.
Junior Devin Nosaka and freshman Marc Seaman (11 points) knocked down a pair of 3’s for WCA while Charles Blaha (15 points) and Braden Sutton (10 points) were aggressive down low combining for nine points in the opening period.
Ryan Flannigan gave the Eagles a huge boost off the bench in the second quarter.
After two LaRose buckets in the paint put Walsingham up 26-20, Flannigan’s baseline jumper made it 26-22. Blaha’s tough turnaround inside put the Trojans back up six, 28-22, but after a Brian Williams three from the wing, Flannigan buried a long ball of his own to tie the game (28-28) for the first time all quarter and swing the momentum back in favor of WCA.
Duncan would drain two deep 3’s in the final two minutes of the first half, but a ferocious slam from Blaha and LaRose’s jumper in the waning seconds gave the Trojans a two-point advantage at the break.
After leading 36-34 at halftime, Walsingham pulled away quickly in the third quarter.
The Trojans padded their lead to double digits thanks largely in part to the size and presence inside of the 6’8, 215-pound Blaha, who scored six early points in the third quarter by creating multiple second-chance points for the Trojans as Walsingham led 54-43 heading into the final period.
“We had a lot of success inside with our size advantage, and that was our focus [coming out of halftime],” Walsingham coach Billy Barnes said. “They were trading 3’s for 2’s in the first half and able to stay in the game, so we tried to force it inside and wear them down.”
Trailing by 11 to start the final eight minutes, Duncan appeared poised to bring the Eagles back within striking distance as he scored the first two buckets of the quarter to make it a single-digit contest, 45-37, with still plenty of time on the clock.
That’s when LaRose took over.
Out of a timeout, LaRose converted a three-point play at the hoop after finishing off a tough layup, plus the foul, to put Walsingham back up 10.
After Flannigan buried his third 3-pointer of the game to make it 59-52, LaRose answered with a long ball of his own before closing the game scoring six of the game’s final 10 points as the Trojans held on.
“Brandon’s a pretty tough matchup, and he came up big for us tonight,” Barnes added. “But [WCA] gave us a great effort given what they’ve been through today.
“There were times when I felt like we might let down. But the thing about this team – and we’ve seen it in a couple of our close wins – is that we’ve never panicked. I reminded our guys that tonight would be about runs, and every time they made one we responded. This was a good win for us, no doubt.”
Walsingham 75 Williamsburg Christian 55
Walsingham- 20 16 18 18 – 72
Williamsburg Chr.- 18 16 9 12 – 55
Walsingham (8-1)- LaRose 31, Blaha 15, Sutton 10, Kissoon 9, Barnes 4, Brown 3. Totals 32 4-4; 72.
WCA (0-11)- Duncan 21, Flannigan 11, Seaman 11, Williams 5, Gasway 4, Nosaka 3. Totals 19 4-4; 55.
