Story By Angela Watts
Assistant GM, Washington D.C. Metro Area
Photos and Videos By James A. McCray III
Content Manager, Prince George’s County
** Click the links above to access a photo gallery and dozens of video highlight’s from Saturday’s game!
Montrose Christian legendary Coach Stu Vetter said there were two main reasons why its game against T.C. Williams Saturday night was moved from the Mustangs’ home gymnasium to the Comcast Center Pavilion at the University of Maryland.
For starters, he wants to give as many members of the community a chance to see the Mustangs — ranked No. 1 in the DigitalSports poll and No. 7 nationally — play as possible. But Vetter said he also wanted to give the No. 8 Titans a fair environment to play in.
Mission accomplished.
Well, sort of.
Because this season — against this Montrose Christian team — nothing seems like a fair environment.
Dozens of T.C. Williams students stood and cheered spiritedly throughout the game, but there was nothing they could do to help counter the Mustangs’ height, speed or athletic advantage.
So it was Mustangs’ fans that filled the other side of the gym that got to enjoy the brunt of high-flying dunks, monstrous blocks and pin-point accurate shooting, particularly from behind the three-point line, in what proved a 70-53 victory over the defending Virginia AAA champion Titans.
“We’re used to playing good team,” Vetter said. “But to get an opportunity to play probably the best public school in the area, that’s motivating to us. And to play in front of a crowd like that … that’s motivation, too.
“Our goal is to eventually have maybe five games here, or in a bigger gym, and then five games in our home gym. Because our gym seats only about 700, it wouldn’t be fair to T.C. Williams to bring them into that environment. We actually haven’t lost to them in years. And that just wouldn’t do justice to two great, athletic teams.
“I mean, it would be great to bring them in there and get that Cameron Indoor Stadium advantage, but by the same token, it’s better to play on a big floor. It also gives other people in the community an opportunity to see our team.
“And I think the people that saw our team tonight will probably want to come back and see us again.”
Montrose Christian (11-1 overall) jumped to a big, 12-1 lead in just more than two minutes of play, sparked by a fast-break dunk from senior forward Isaiah Armwood and a pair of three-pointers by senior guard Dominic Milburn, who drained four from behind the arch on the night.
The Mustangs, who were led by senior center Mouphtaou Yarou’s game-high 23 points and junior guard Terrence Ross with 14, extended that lead to a generous, 25-8 margin at the end of the first quarter.
“I really like the way we came out,” Vetter said. “Our energy was high and our intensity was there. Obviously, we also came out hitting our shots and that helps everything. You hit your shots and generally you play better defense. So it was just one of those games where I thought we were clicking early on all cylinders.
“But I think T.C. did a good job of staying in the game and staying close. They could have easily folded, but they didn’t. They played hard and they’re an outstanding team.”
The Titans (9-2) narrowed Montrose’s lead to 13 points by half time and pulled within 39-28 with 6 minutes, 59 seconds remaining in the third quarter on an Edward Jenkins (15 points) steal and outlet pass to Ryan Yates (13) for a fast-break layup, but would get no closer.
“We made a lot of mistakes early, and against a team like Montrose Christian you just can’t do that,” T.C. Williams first-year Coach Julian King said. “They capitalize on your mistakes. So that, on top of them being a great team already with a lot of size and speed … it’s overwhelming.
“It’s a learning experience for my guys. This is their first prime-time game of the year, so our biggest thing is to learn from it and get ready for the [Patriot] District.”
Email: awatts@digitalsports.com; tmccray@digitalsports.com
No. 8 T.C. Williams 8 16 15 14 — 53
No. 1 Montrose Christian 25 12 19 14 — 70
T.C. Williams — Jenkins 5 3-4 15; Yates 5 2-4 13; Via 4 0-0 8; Chambers 2 2-4 6; Rowland 2 1-1 5; Taylor 2 0-0 4; Peterson 1 0-0 2. Team totals: 23 8-13 53. Montrose Christian — Yarou 9 5-8 23; Ross 5 2-2 14; Milburn 4 0-0 12; Anderson 3 0-0 7; Armwood 3 0-0 7; Collins 1 2-2 4; Fraction 1 1-5 3. Team totals: 26 10-17 70. Three-pointers — T.C. Williams 3 (Jenkins 2, Yates); Montrose Christian 8 (Milburn 4, Ross 2, Anderson, Armwood).
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