Raiders Double Up on Heritage

By Paul Tenorio

Wednesday, February 18, 2009

There are no easy games in the Virginia AA Dulles District - especially not when it comes to rivalries.

Loudoun County experienced that firsthand Tuesday night as it hosted Heritage in a district tournament quarterfinal.

Days after a four-point win over Heritage in the regular-season finale, things again were looking tight. The Raiders, seeded third, had seen an eight-point lead cut to four with just over 2 1/2 minutes to play against the sixth-seeded Pride.

On the sidelines, Raiders Coach Brian Blubaugh signaled for point guard Joe Bushrod to slow things down. But moments before, Bushrod had called a play during Heritage's free throws, and as he walked the ball up the court, he continued to signal for the play.

Seconds later, Bushrod found senior forward Tyler Larson at the foul line, and Larson bounced a pass behind him to Tim McLister, who was slashing to the rim on a back cut. McLister hit the layup and was fouled, then completed the three-point play to open the Raiders lead back to seven.

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Loudoun County Sweeps Heritage

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Loudoun County's bench had plenty to celebrate Tuesday during its victory over Heritage. (Dominic Bracco II)

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Loudoun County's Jocie Collins dribbles around Heritage's Danielle Launi. (Dominic Bracco II)

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Heritage's Necole Sterling works her way around Loudoun County's Kerry Sarver, left, and Jenna Strange. (Dominic Bracco II)

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Loudoun County's Alissa Kain is guarded closely by Heritage's Chelsea Paskowski. (Dominic Bracco II)

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Loudoun County's student section cheers on its team on Tuesday against Heritage. (Dominic Bracco II)

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Heritage's Ross Madison attempts to keep possession as Loudoun County's Kyle Pratt looks on. (Dominic Bracco II)

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Loudoun County's Rick Cottom goes up against Heritage's Ross Alcorn, left, and Stephen Shockley. (Dominic Bracco II)

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Heritage's Mo Berchie is met by Loudoun County's Joe Bushrod. (Dominic Bracco II)

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The sequence put Loudoun County (16-6) securely back in control of the game, and the Raiders would never allow Heritage (5-18) back within six as they closed out a 56-46 win.

"It's been wide open every time we've run it," Bushrod said of the play. Blubaugh "told me [after], 'You're way ahead of me.' "

Bushrod, one of the league's top scorers, was the focus of the Heritage box-and-one defense throughout the game, and was limited to six points.

But the senior's teammates picked up the slack around him and, despite a poor shooting night, found enough offense to counter Heritage's outside shooting.

Leading the way was senior Rick Cottom, who had 20 points and 11 rebounds to pace the Raiders. McLister added nine points, and Terrence Ferrell and Mahir Mrkonjic each added eight.

Heritage was deadly from distance, hitting seven three-pointers in the contest.

Senior Travis Amy, who had four threes on the night, hit back-to-back from downtown in the third quarter to give the Pride a four-point advantage.

But the Raiders answered with a 9-2 run in which four players scored to close out the quarter, and they never again surrendered the lead.

"Heritage did a good job tonight; they hit a lot of threes," Blubaugh said. "We didn't make any shots. We were 1-for-16 from three-point range, and we're shooting about 34 percent for the year, so you figure you're going to hit some of those, and we didn't. We had some good inside play from Rick, and Terrence did a good job coming off the bench for us."

With the win, Loudoun County advances to the semifinals at Freedom-South Riding on Thursday, where the Raiders will play two-seed Broad Run, which advanced with a 66-52 win over Briar Woods.

In the second game of the doubleheader, the second-seeded Loudoun County girls dispatched seven-seed Heritage with a dominant 55-34 win.

Coming off of a regular-season finale in which Heritage (6-17) trailed by one going into the fourth quarter of an eventual 11-point Raiders win, Loudoun County this time quickly looked to establish itself as heavyweight.

Up 7-5 late in the first quarter, the Raiders (19-4) finished the half on a 24-9 run behind the strong play of senior point guard Kerry Sarver, who was active on the boards and picked up a couple of assists in the first half.

Sophomore guard Brittany Batts, who finished with five points, broke the Raiders' single-season scoring record with 445 points. And senior Kendra Holmes (10 points, 19 rebounds) and junior Alissa Kain (16 point, eight rebounds) also had strong nights.

The Raiders advance to play three-seed Broad Run tomorrow night at Freedom-South Riding.

Tagged: basketball, Briar Woods High School, Broad Run High School, Dominion High School, Freedom High School , Heritage High School, high school sports, Loudoun County High School, Loudoun Valley High School, Park View High School, Potomac Falls High School, South Lakes High School, Stone Bridge High School

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