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| Angela Watts of DigitalSports.com talks with Langley senior Derek Baker after he scores 21 points in the Saxons' victory over the Highlanders. | |||||
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By Angela Watts
Assistant GM, Washington D.C. Metro Area
** Click the links above to access a full photo gallery and dozens of video highlights from Wednesday's semifinal round!
On a night where offense was hard to come by for all parties involved, it was the play of senior standouts Stephen Stepka of W.T. Woodson and Derek Baker of Langley that propelled their teams into Friday's Liberty District championship game.
Stepka's numbers weren't gaudy in the top-seeded Cavaliers' 35-33 victory over fourth-seeded Madison in the first game of the semifinal doubleheader, but his presence was.
Baker, meanwhile, single-handedly accounted nearly half of third-seeded Langley's total points, dropping 21 -- including four, three-pointers -- in a 43-35 victory over seventh-seed McLean in the nightcap.
"I just think that's the way it is in our district," W.T. Woodson Coach Doug Craig said of the low-scoring contests.
"If you want to see racing up-and-down the floor and scores in the 80s and dunking on everybody ... that's not what the Liberty District is. Most teams play pretty good man-to-man defense and try to execute in the half court and control the tempo, and sometimes that's just the way the games turn out.
"They can end up being 35-33 rugby scrums."
Such patient and deliberate offensive play started in the first game, where the Cavaliers led the Warhawks by a narrow, 7-4 margin after one quarter of play.
With the score tied at 23 the end of three quarters, Stepka found himself whistled for his fourth personal foul just :24 seconds into the fourth. Stepka was forced to sit for more than two minutes of game time, and during that stretch he could only watch as Madison, led by seniors Omi Ogolo (team-high 11 points) and Will Clarkson (nine) jumped to a 27-23 lead.
But Stepka made a big block on his first possession back in the mix, and scored on the ensuing play to pull the Cavaliers within two. He then took a feed from senior Ben Pochekailo for another bucket to again knot the score at 27 with 3 minutes, 20 seconds to play.
Stepka, the Liberty District Player of the Year, scored six of his team-high 10 points in the game's final minutes. That, combined with a a key three-pointer and a big block from Steven Noe with just :02.4 remaining sealed W.T. Woodson's victory.
"Stephen's our best player and everyone knows it," Cavaliers' Coach Doug Craig said. "We were going to try to get him the ball down the stretch when the game was tight. We were trying to get it to him all night but they did a very good job defensively on him. But, to Stephen's credit, he didn't let the first 28 minutes bother the last four minutes that he played.
"And that's what you need -- and expect -- from your best player."
It was a different scenario in the night's second game, where Langley enjoyed a more generous seven-point lead at the end of one quarter, eight-point lead at half time and an 11-point advantage midway through the third.
But the Highlanders battled back, narrowing the gap to 32-25 with 4:51 to play on a fastbreak feed from Curtis Symonds to Grayson Dahl.
But like he did all night, Baker responded. He came right back down the floor and hit his fourth three-pointer of the game -- two more were made but waived off -- to ignite the Saxon fans and instill confidence in his teammates.
"Derek Baker has a huge green light," Langley Coach Travis Hess said. "Really, we want all of our guys to shoot. That's why they're out there on the floor, because we think they can score and get to the basket. Everyone gives us something different and the kids understand those roles.
"Tonight, Derek was just on ... he came to play tonight. The three he hit to answer their run was huge."
But McLean wasn't done yet. Senior guard Peter Brosnan (team-high 11 points) tightened his defense and harassed the Saxons into multiple turnovers, and a three-pointer by senior Zach Altman with 2:51 to play cut Langley's lead to 37-34.
"We were a little nervous to be honest with you," Hess said. "We were up 11 and kind of squandered the lead away. I asked our coaches if they thought we got a little complacent in the fourth quarter ... but we didn't feel that we did. We thought we were doing the right thing.
"It was just a testament to them. They made it a three-point game and they had their opportunities, but the shots didn't fall for them.
"We were lucky to get out of here with a win.
Now that focus turns to Friday's championship game, which will be held at 5:45 p.m. at South Lakes. Langley and W.T. Woodson split their regular-season games, with the Saxons winning, 52-50, on Jan. 16 and the Cavaliers returning the favor, 54-48, on Feb. 10.
"It'll be a war on Friday night just like it was tonight," Craig said. "Everybody you play at this point -- from the district semifinals through the state finals -- is good. So you'd better play your game, control what you can and try to be at your best."
Email: awatts@digitalsports.com
GAME 1
Madison 4 11 8 10 -- 33
W.T. Woodson 7 10 6 12 -- 35
Madison -- Ogolo 4 3-5 11; Clarkson 4 1-2 9; Reichl 2 0-0 4; Swinley 1 2-2 4; Ehrsam 1 1-3 3; Hilburn 1 0-0 2. Team totals: 13 7-12 33. W.T. Woodson -- Stepka 4 2-3 10; Schoof 3 0-0 9; Robeson 2 1-2 5; Boehling 0 4-4 4; Noe 1 0-0 3; Kim 1 0-0 2; Pochekailo 0 2-2 2. Team totals: 11 9-11 35. Three pointers -- Madison 0; W.T. Woodson 4 (Schoof 3, Noe).
GAME 2
McLean 4 11 8 12 -- 35
Langley 11 12 9 11 -- 43
McLean -- Brosnan 4 1-3 11; Dahl 2 3-4 7; Bouchard 1 2-2 4; Fitzgerald 2 0-0 4; Altman 1 0-0 3; Baruch 1 0-0 3; Gjino 1 0-0 2; Symonds 0 1-2 1. Team totals: 11 7-11 35. Langley -- Baker 5 7-9 21; Hunter 3 2-2 8; Pritchett 2 2-3 6; Justus 2 0-0 4; Devlin 1 0-0 2; Kody 1 0-0 2. Team totals: 14 11-14 43. Three pointers -- McLean 4 (Brosnan 2, Altman, Baruch); Langley 4 (Baker 4).
