Prep boys basketball: Stonewall forces turnovers, defeats Patriot 71-45

In life, 11 minutes is not a lot of time.

But during the second and third quarters of Tuesday’s boys basketball game between visiting Patriot and Stonewall Jackson, it was an eternity for the Pioneers.

The host Raiders shut down Patriot for that span and it was enough to lead sluggish Stonewall Jackson to a 71-45 victory in a Cedar Run District contest in Manassas.

J.R. Washington led Stonewall Jackson (16-5, 7-2 Cedar Run) with 17 points and nine rebounds, while Marquis Yates added 16 points and eight rebounds. Diandre Stubbs contributed 11 points and seven boards in the winning effort.

E.J. Baltimore was the only Patriot (8-12, 1-8) player to score in double figures as he had 12 points. A.J. Cowthran added nine points and a team-high seven rebounds, while Marcus Farber scored eight points.

Patriot opened the game playing well and carried a 13-12 advantage into the second quarter. But that was when things began to fall apart.

Stonewall Jackson turned up the intensity in its full-court trapping press and forced the Pioneers into eight turnovers in the second quarter alone (24 for the game). Couple that with Patriot missing all nine of its field goal attempts, and the eight-minute period was a disaster for the visitors, who managed just four free throws as the Raiders took a 30-17 lead at intermission.

“The first quarter was one of our best all season, but it got away from us in the second,” Patriot head coach Daniel Nemerow said. “They do a good job of putting you in bad positions with their traps, and they are very good at turning mistakes into points.”

Patriot’s struggles continued into the second half. With Yates scoring seven points, Stonewall opened the third quarter on a 13-4 run to take a 43-21 lead with 5 minutes, 1 second remaining. Over that 11-minute stretch, starting with the beginning of the second quarter, the Raiders outscored Patriot 31-8.

“We didn’t come with a lot of energy, but at the break after the first quarter, I persuaded them to play better defense and turn them over,” Raiders head coach Marcus Lawrence said. “We did a really good job of that in the second and third quarters.”

The Pioneers finally got back on track a bit in the latter half of the third quarter, closing the period on an 11-6 run as Baltimore had six points and Cowthran added five. Patriot got as close as 54-39 in the fourth as Farber scored five consecutive points, but it was as close as the Pioneers would get.

With the Cedar Run District Tournament looming next week, Nemerow is hopeful his Pioneers have learned good lessons through their first season of competition.

“I like where we are as far as we know what we are capable of,” Nemerow said. “We need everybody to do their job, play their role, for four quarters. Teams that win play a complete game, and I’m hoping we’re ready to do that.”

The Raiders, who have clinched a bye in the tournament’s opening round, have one remaining game at district leader Osbourn on Friday. Lawrence believes his team will be better prepared to face the Eagles than they were Jan. 13, when Osbourn handed Stonewall a nine-point loss.

“We were not ready to play them the last time,” Lawrence said. “We emphasized this week that we needed to focus on Patriot and let Friday take care of itself. Well, now Friday is here. We’ll be ready and try to go into the district tournament on a high note.”



STONEWALL JACKSON 71, PATRIOT 45

PATRIOT (8-12, 1-8)
Cowthran 4 0-2 9, Bergquist 1 0-0 2, Cowell 0 0-0 0, Baltimore 3 6-8 12, Smith 3 0-0 6, Hunter 0 0-0 0, Farber 3 2-4 8, Sharp 0 2-4 2, Malik 0 0-0 0, Ghafoori 1 0-0 2, Osei 1 2-2 4, Lugent 0 0-0 0. Totals 16 12-20 45.
STONEWALL JACKSON (16-5, 7-2)
Stubbs 5 1-2 11, Lett 1 2-2 4, Ali 2 3-7 7, Yates 7 1-1 16, Stroman 0 0-0 0, Finzel 2 0-0 5, Judson 0 0-0 0, Washington 4 7-7 17, Dennis 0 0-0 0, Shrestha 0 0-0 0, Berchie 2 0-0 4, Lucas 1 0-0 2, Frye 2 1-2 5. Totals 26 15-21 71.
Halftime – Stonewall Jackson, 30-17. 3-point goals – Patriot 1 (Cowthran), Stonewall Jackson 4 (Washington 2, Yates, Finzel).