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Eleanor Roosevelt's boys basketball team was in trouble.
Trailing 32-21 to
C.D. Hylton with halftime less than a two minutes away, the Raiders needed a spark — something to wake them up during the early Saturday afternoon game at Hoop Magic in Chantilly. Thankfully for Roosevelt, senior guard
Lasan Kromah was feeling electric.
After Raiders senior guard
Francis Ashe hit a layup and free throw to pull Roosevelt within eight points, Kromah
stroked a buzzer-beating three-pointer that bounced around the rim for what seemed like 10 seconds before dropping through the net. Just like that, the Bulldogs' lead went from 11 points to five. Just like that, the Raiders had momentum.
"That three that Lasan hit at the buzzer was big," said Roosevelt head coach
Brendan O'Connell.
As Kromah walked off the court after the shot, his face showed a mix of frustration and relief. Before that shot, the Raiders' star had only hit two field goals in the first half. He was 2-for-4 from the free throw line.
"To be honest, he didn't play great. He missed a lot of shots, but I like the
way that he fought through," said O'Connell. "That was one of his worst games."
By the end of the second half, however, Kromah would finish with a game-high 21 points — eight coming in the Raiders' 20-point fourth quarter.
"That's how good a scorer he is, on a bad night, he can get 20," said O'Connell.
Coming off of a 55-42 win over
Suitland on Friday night, the Raiders had a quick turnaround to prepare for their noon game in Chantilly. O'Connell hopes the long early-morning bus ride isn't the reason for the Raiders' slow start, but believes that very well could be the culprit.
"We played last night late, there is no excuse for that, but I sure it had something to do with it," said O'Connell.
By the end of the first quarter, the Raiders were down by six. After a 6-0 run by the Bulldogs to start the second quarter, O'Connell was bracing for a long game.
"It was a frustrating first half," he said. "It seemed like they made everything
that they threw up and we missed a lot of layups and didn't seem like
we came out with a lot of energy."
After their 6-0 run to end the second quarter, the Raiders started the third with an 8-2 run to take the lead, 35-34. After a back-forth-third, the Raiders' 20-point fourth sealed the deal.
"It shows how close we are as a family, coming together in these types of situations," said Kromah, who along with Hylton's
Darrell Patterson (19 points) was honored as MVP of the game.
Team Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Final
Eleanor Roosevelt 13 14 17 20 64
C.D. Hylton 19 13 17 12 61
Eleanor Roosevelt 64, C.D. Hylton 61
ELEANOR ROOSEVELT (64) — Lasan Kromah 8 4-6 21; Prince Okoroh 5 1-1 11; James Smith 2 1-2 7; Patrick Bostic 3 0-0 6; Chaun Miller 3 0-0 6; Dominique McNeal 2 2-6 6; Francis Ashe 2 1-2 5; David Abraham 1 0-0 2. C.D. HYLTON (61) — Darrell Patterson 8 3-3 19; Carlton Johnson 7 1-2 17; Keith Mitchell 4 1-2 9; Scotty Hagman 3 1-1 8; Jamar Hylton 2 0-0 4; Dominique Major 2 0-0 4.