By Phil Murphy
DigitalSports.com

**Game highlights, followed by video interviews, are avaiilable at the bottom of the article**

The Liberty District battle between No. 5 Madison (11-2) and No. 4 Langley (12-1) on Tuesday featured such staunch defensive play that literal minutes passed at times without either team scoring. But ultimately it was the host Saxons who prevailed in overtime for their eighth straight win, 48-46, thanks to timely runs and superb play by senior forward Ryan Davenport.

"I knew this was going to be our toughest game of the season by far, and it definitely was our toughest game that we've played," Davenport said. "That game truly wasn't over until the buzzer rang. It was one of those games where you had to fight to the end, and even more because it was in overtime."

Langley held the control early, scoring 15 first-quarter points while limiting the Warhawks to just seven. As the game wore on though, Madison effectively slowed the game offensively and was able to take the Saxons out of their rhythm.

"I told [the team], if they're patient our shots will fall," Madison Coach Chris Kuhblank said. "It's the basketball gods -- if you take a shot off of one pass, even if they are your best shooters, they don't go in. When you work a little bit, for some reason they go in ... That's the law of basketball."

The Warhawks limited Langley to just 11 points in the second and third quarters combined, including a span in which the Saxons were scoreless for seven minutes, 48 seconds. Madison, meanwhile, posted 25 points over the two-period span. It then closed the third quarter on an 11-0 run to enter the final period with a 32-26 lead. Only three different Langley players hit a field goal in the game.

"They did a great job pressuring us and playing help-side defense," Davenport said, "Drew Smerdinksi did a good job on me. He was pressuring me the whole time. And if you got by one of their guys, they had a lot of guys in the paint to help.

"We weren't hitting our outside shots. So, when you can't get inside and you aren't hitting your outside shots, you're not going to score on offense."

Davenport, though, took control of the game's final frame, scoring seven of his team's 13 points in the quarter, including the go-ahead jumper from the elbow with just over a minute remaining in regulation to put the Saxons in front, 39-37.

"I was really proud of my teammates," he said, "We all just sat down and said, 'We're going to come back and win this together.' We all just had confidence in each other. I was really proud of my teammates for playing hard out there."

On the ensuing Madison possession senior forward Scott LeDuc was fouled away from the ball by Langley junior forward Thomas Kody. LeDuc, awarded a one-and-one, sank both free-throws to tie the game at 39 with :44.1 seconds left. LeDuc's 12 points tied him with junior Omi Ogolo for the team-high.

In the waning seconds of regulation, Davenport looked to create a shot, but was guarded tightly still by Smerdinski and was forced into an off-balance, three-pointer that ricocheted errantly from the rim as time expired.

"I thought we did a tremendous job on Davenport," Kuhblank said. "He was frustrated. I know he had 23, but he took like 30 shots to get it. I was very pleased with our defense."

But the overtime belonged to Langley and to Davenport. The senior scored seven more of that game-high 23 points in the extra quarter, including converting a half-court steal into a layup that extended the Saxons' lead to 44-41.

"I thought they were going to get an over-and-back call," Davenport said while reenacting the play. "Then I stopped for a second and realized that [the Madison guard] was holding the ball out a little bit, so I figured I should make an attempt at it.

"It was a close call because if I missed it, I would get called for a foul and they would go to the free throw line. I took a chance and it ended up paying off. In close games, small plays like that make a big difference."

Moments later, with the Saxons ahead by one, Kody sank two critical free throws to extend the Langley lead to three points -- all eight of his points for the game came couresy of free throws -- and then Davenport followed with two more of his own. The Saxons were a flawless 10-for-10 from the stripe in the fourth quarter and overtime to help secure their win.

"I thought it was going to be a dogfight," Kuhblank said. "We're trying to win our games at home and steal them on the road. Good teams put themselves in a position to win, and great teams find a way to win. The last couple games we found a way to win. Tonight, we didn't.

"I'm disappointed in the loss, but I didn't think anyone was going to run the table in our district and now nobody is, because nobody is undefeated."

These two teams will play again Feb. 7 at Madison. The Warhawks are 36-5 at home in the last three-and-a-half seasons and boast a 5-0 home record this year.


Email: pmurphy@digitalsports.com


Madison        7  11  14    7   7   --  46
Langley       15    7    4  13   9   --  48

Madison -- LeDuc 5 2-3 12; Ogolo 3 5-6 12; Hahn 3 0-0 9; Hilburn 2 0-0 5; Moyer 1 0-0 3; Smerdinski 1 0-0 2; Crissey 0 2-2 2; Flaherty 0 1-2 1. Langley -- Davenport 8 6-8 23; Malik 3 2-2 8; Kody 0 8-8 8; Baker 3 1-1 7; Hunter 0 2-2 2. Three-pointers -- Madison 7 (Hahn 3, Hilburn, Moyer, Ogolo); Langley 1 (Davenport).