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Bulldogs Hold Off Late Rally to Beat Woodbridge
By Paul Frommelt
The storyline during the C.D. Hylton boys basketball team’s 68-62 win over Woodbridge changed a few times during the fourth quarter. At first, it was a story about the Bulldogs’ dominating win over a district rival to stay in the driver’s seat in the Cardinal District. Suddenly, it changed into a dramatic come-from-behind victory for the Vikings — climbing back from a 13-point fourth quarter deficit to win in thrilling fashion. In the end, however, it was about the resiliency of Hylton head coach Barry Smith’s squad — holding off the surging Vikings to earn the victory and sit alone atop the district standings with a 5-1 record.
“They got hot. We got caught flat-footed and we didn’t reacted. We put ourselves in that situation but we fought through it,” said Smith. “To fight through it, it shows maturity. We have a lot of experience on the floor.”
After a dominating 22-point third quarter, the Bulldogs were sitting pretty with a comfortable 13-point lead. They even enjoyed a 11-point lead with just under five minute to go. Then the Vikings — lead by Dominic Phillips, who scored 14 of his 22 points in the fourth quarter — came alive. Phillips scored on three consecutive layups and was fouled each time — part of a 13-2 run for the Vikings to pull even at 54-54.
“Dominic was able to get to the basket and do what he does best — finish in the paint and make his free throws,” said Woodbridge head coach Chad Anderson. Phillips went 5-for-6 from the foul line in the fourth quarter.
With the Woodbridge home crowd back in the game, the Vikings pulled ahead, 59-57, with just over two minutes left thanks to another Phillips layup. When Deonte’ Hallums blocked a shot on the Bulldogs’ subsequent trip down the court, it was clear that the momentum was solely in the Vikings’ possession.
“Calm down. We got this,” Darell Patterson remembers telling his teammates during a Bulldogs timeout.
“Just keep playing. It’s an ebb and flow,” Smith told his team. “We may start out on a 8-0 run
or we may go down by 8 points. We just have to keep playing.”
The Bulldogs kept playing.
Senior Carlton Johnson scored on a floater over Woodbridge center Raphiael Putney to tie the game at 59-59. After stopping the Vikings on their next possession, senior Keith Mitchell was inexplicably fouled while bringing the ball down the court. Mitchell hit both of his free throws to give the Bulldogs the lead for good. Mitchell, who finished with 17 points, added the exclamation point on the Bulldogs’ victory a few seconds later with a fast-break dunk to put the game out of reach.
The win, coupled with a Gar-Field win over Potomac, gives the Bulldogs a half-game lead over the Indians in the Cardinal District standings. Hylton will travel to Gar-Field on Friday in a game that will most-likely decide the district’s regular-season champion.
“It is a big win for us,” said Smith. “We’re still in the driver’s seat.”
Team Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Finals
C.D. Hylton 68, Woodbridge 62
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