Heritage Escapes with Overtime Win

By Matt Brooks (Contact)

Tuesday, February 5, 2008

If the last two weeks of Dulles District boys’ basketball have proved anything, it’s that any team can win on a given night. Broad Run was fresh off a two-point loss to seventh-place Freedom Monday night, yet gave first-place Heritage everything they could handle.

In the end, however, Heritage senior guard Chris Broderick got two free throws with 0.9 of a second left in overtime to clench a 66-64 victory for the Pride.

The teams battled back and forth throughout the game and neither team led by more than six points at any point. The Spartans stayed in it thanks to guard R.J. Jasper’s solid outside shooting while the Pride scored critical rebounds and putbacks in both the second half and overtime.

With the score tied at 64, Broad Run held the ball late in the extra period, looking to take the last shot for the win. But Shane Johnson’s air-balled three-point attempt left too much time on the clock.

Broderick grabbed the rebound and pushed up the court to draw a foul from Broad Run’s Didier Saidi, setting up the decisive free throw.

“It was a competitive game,” Heritage Coach Marquez Mallisham said. “I thought our kids scrapped all the way to the end, and then when the game went into overtime, we scrapped even more. We kept on playing hard and hustled. Every time we come here, every year it’s a competitive game. They’ve got a great coaching staff and players that work hard and we knew it was going to be a dogfight.”

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Heritage at Broad Run

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Spartan junior forward Didier Saidi goes vertical for a layup against Pride senior guard Chris Broderick during the first quarter at Broad Run High School Monday. (Kevin Myrick)

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Broad Run's Scott Hiatt and Wesley Malychev watch as their teammates warm up Monday before facing off against Heritage. (Kevin Myrick)

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Darius Tibbs' basket falls through the hoop as the Heritage Pride warm up Monday before facing Broad Run. (Kevin Myrick)

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Broad Run head coach Larry Boomer watches his players warm up Monday before their match up against the top team in the Dulles district, Heritage. (Kevin Myrick)

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Pride senior guard Curtis Rustin goes for the layup during the third quarter of action against Broad Run Monday. (Kevin Myrick)

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Pride senior guard Curtis Rustin watches as Spartan senior forward Shane Johnson gets a hand on the ball Monday during the first quarter at Broad Run High School. (Kevin Myrick)

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Heritage senior guard Preston Findley shoots for three Monday against Broad Run during the first quarter. (Kevin Myrick)

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Heritage senior guard Preston Findley goes up to block a jump shot by Broad Run junior guard Breon Earl during the first quarter Monday at Broad Run High School. (Kevin Myrick)

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Broad Run junior center Kevin Sandersen and Heritage guards Devon Alcala and Kyle Nelson watch as Sanderson's field goal heads toward the basket during the second quarter Monday at Broad Run High School. (Kevin Myrick)

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Pride senior guard Chris Broderick goes for a loose ball during the second period against Broad Run's Martin Thomas on Monday. Broderick would go on to hit two free throws in the final second of the game in overtime to win it for the Pride, 66-64. (Kevin Myrick)

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Players on both sides of the ball watch and wait for a basket to bounce off the rim during the second quarter as Heritage faced off against Broad Run Monday in a 66-64 overtime win in the last second of the game. (Kevin Myrick)

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Steven Shockley goes up for the three against Shane Johnson during the second quarter Monday at Broad Run High School. (Kevin Myrick)

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Larry Boomer talks to his team before the beginning of the third quarter Monday in their game against Heritage at Broad Run High School. The Spartans would fall to the Pride in the last second of the game, 66-64, after going into overtime. (Kevin Myrick)

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Pride senior guard Chris Broderick attempts to pass around Spartan senior forward Devon Earl early in the third period Monday as the two teams faced off against one another. Broderick would lead Heritage to a last second 66-64 victory in overtime after hitting back-to-back free throws. (Kevin Myrick)

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Pride senior forward Michael Massey goes up for the rebound against Spartan senior forward Shane Johnson Monday during the third quarter. (Kevin Myrick)

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Pride senior guard Chris Broderick goes for a layup during the third quarter Monday in Heritage's game against Broad Run. (Kevin Myrick)

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Heritage's Michael Massey rebounds the ball and tries for a second attempt at a shot Monday during the fourth quarter against Broad Run. (Kevin Myrick)

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Heritage senior forward Michael Massey finds himself on the floor after missing a rebound Monday, while the Spartans' Devon Earl looks for the open pass to R.J. Jasper. (Kevin Myrick)

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Loudoun County's Rick Cottom shows surprise at the final-second foul called on Broad Run, giving Heritage two shots at the line Monday. Loudoun County plays Broad Run at home Tuesday. (Kevin Myrick)

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Mahir Mrkonjic, left, and Donne Lucas, right, react to a final-second foul called on the Spartans in overtime, sending Heritage to the foul line for two. Loudoun County plays Broad Run at home Tuesday. (Kevin Myrick)

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Heritage fans celebrate after the buzzer sounds to end the game Monday against Broad Run with a 66-64 win for the Pride. (Kevin Myrick)

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Heritage senior guard Chris Broderick watches as his second free throw sails toward the basket to secure the win for the Pride with less than a second left on the clock during overtime. (Kevin Myrick)

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With the win, Heritage (10-7, 8-2) held onto its one-game lead in the district for at least another night. The Pride edged Broad Run, 68-66, on Jan. 4.

The Spartans (7-10, 5-5) had several chances to put the game away at the free-throw line but could only make the front end of three key trips to the stripe. Jasper had a chance to win the game in regulation time after tying the score at 56 with 3.2 seconds left, but his second free throw rimmed out and the Pride pulled down the rebound.

Down by one with 21.6 seconds left in overtime, Jasper went to the line again. He made the first and missed the second, and Johnson fouled Heritage forward Mike Massey on the rebound. The score was tied at 64 when Massey missed the front end of a one-and-one, and Johnson pulled down the rebound to set up the final sequence.

“We had opportunities,” Broad Run Coach Larry Boomer said. “I told our kids to be disappointed but use it for motivation and a learning experience. You’ve got to learn from these time and score situations through the remainder of the season and the postseason. When they present themselves again, we’ve got to be better equipped to deal with them.”

Broderick, who led all scorers in the first meeting with 22 points, finished with 10, but his final two free throws were the difference. Senior guard Preston Findley led the Pride with 15 points and six rebounds and Heritage got a huge boost off the bench from junior guard Brenton Peters. The standout shortstop played lockdown defense on the hardwood in the first half and knocked down two big three-pointers. He finished with 14 points on six-of-eight shoots and two steals.

“Brenton Peters had a superb game, an outstanding game,” Mallisham said. “He proved himself tonight. He’s been scrapping and asking for more playing time and tonight he proved that he deserves to be on the court.”

Jasper led the Spartans with 19 points on five three-pointers. Saidi, a junior forward, chipped in with 12 and Johnson added 13. The senior forward was 6 for 7 from the field with his only miss coming on his final attempt. Broad Run has now lost four of five.

With the win, Heritage improved to 2-2 on the season in games decided by two points or fewer. They lost by one at home to Loudoun County on January 16 and dropped another one-point game to Park View on December 21.

“We finally got the right call at the right time and that was the difference in the game,” Mallisham said. “It was the correct call to make and he made the right call. It was a very good high school basketball game and both teams scrapped until the end. We caught a break and we made two free throws. Game over.”

Notes: Both coaches went to their benches early with Boomer using 10 players and Mallisham going 11 deep in the first quarter. With a frenetic pace at times and knowing they had another game to play the following day, Boomer and Mallisham cycled through their squads to keep fresh legs on the floor…The Spartans held a 25-23 lead at the half but never led by more than four points all night…There were three ties and five lead changes in the overtime period…In the huddle before his team’s final possession in overtime, Boomer’s last words to his players were, “Doesn’t matter what, we take the last shot.” Johnson launched his three-point attempt with just over four seconds remaining…Broad Run senior guard Andrew Mann had two costly turnovers in the extra period that led to two Heritage baskets…The Pride found a way to win despite shooting just 3-for-17 from beyond the arc. Broad Run was 9-for-24 thanks to Jasper’s hot hand…Both teams have quick turnarounds as the Spartans travel to Loudoun County and Heritage hosts Briar Woods on Tuesday night.

Tagged: basketball, Broad Run High School, Heritage High School

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