2008-09 Boys' Basketball Season In Pictures
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Friday, March 13, 2009
This was truly a season of firsts for many of the county's basketball programs as new coaches took the firsts steps toward building their programs while other teams made history by eclipsing the accomplishments of their predecessors.
Under first-year head coach John Costello, the Broad Run Spartans were an early season surprise, winning 11 of their first 12 games and establishing themselves as one of the teams to beat in the Dulles District. They were joined by perennial power Potomac Falls and senior-loaded Dominion at the top of the league standings in the early going.
Regular season play started with a bang as Briar Woods - the undisputed doormat in the district - knocked off rivals Freedom to claim their first district victory in December. And they didn't stop there. The young Falcons upset Park View and then Potomac Falls in their regular season finale and were the only Dulles District team to knock off Dominion during regular season play.
In the Cedar Run, Loudoun Valley bounced back from a rough start to be a major player in the district race and finished fourth in a very competitive league.
With their first victory at Sterling rival Potomac Falls, the Titans swept through the rest of their district schedule, clinching the program's first league crown after a home win over the Panthers in one of the most raucous atmospheres in recent memory. They capped their regular season with an emotional overtime victory at Broad Run on DeAndre Reaves' buzzer-beating three-pointer.
Photo Gallery
2008-09 Boys' Basketball Season in Photos
11/25 - The Heritage Pride opened up the 2008-2009 season by welcoming back former Coach Mark Mallisham and his new team, Forest Park, with some playful banter. (Tracy A. Woodward)
11/25 - Heritage's Greg Grimes was one of several first-year head coaches in Loudoun this season. His young Pride squad struggled in the early going with a brutal non-district schedule and finished the season 5-17. (Tracy A. Woodward)
12/12 - Jordan Owens and Park View ended Loudoun County's 5-0 start to the season with a 78-72 road win that sent the Raiders - a preseason favorite to win the district title - into an 0-5 tailspin. (Richard A. Lipski)
12/19 - Briar Woods Falcons notched its first ever Dulles District victory in a 49-47 overtime thriller against Freedom. It would be the first of several upsets for the upstart Falcons. (Tracy A. Woodward)
12/26 - Breon Earl and Broad Run capped a surprising 10-1 start to the season with a clean three-game sweep of the Leesburg Honda Stone Bridge-Broad Run Holiday Tournament. (Joel Richardson)
12/26 - After suffering a loss to Broad Run in their Holiday Tournament opener, senior Conor Trombly and Loudoun Valley held a players-only meeting that sparked an 11-2 stretch which turned the Vikings' season around. (Joel Richardson)
1/5 - Potomac Falls sophomore Lukas Mihailovich was one of several talented underclassmen who played key roles on their teams this season. He scored 23 points in a 72-65 win over Loudoun County as the Panthers started the Dulles District regular season 4-0 and tied for first place. (Matt Brooks)
1/9 - Dominion and its strong following paid a visit to Potomac Falls in a pivotal Dulles District matchup before a packed house in Sterling. With first place on the line there was no love lost in this bitter rivalry. (Tracy A. Woodward)
1/9 - The Titans won the game 58-52 - their first victory ever at their rivals - and took a big first step toward the school's first district title. (Tracy A. Woodward)
1/12 - Broad Run extended the Panthers' skid with a 64-56 home victory that gave the Spartans the upper hand in the race for second place in the league standings. (Matt Brooks)
1/23 - Broad Run's Breon Earl gets a handful of Myles Tate's face in a 70-50 win for the Spartans. Only a freshman, Tate was one of the most exciting young players in the league, leading the Falcons with 13.6 points per game. (Richard A. Lipski)
2/6 - Region II Player of the Year DeAndre Albritton led the Dominion Titans to a 66-55 win and season sweep of Potomac Falls that clinched the Titans' first ever Dulles District regular season championship. (Joel Richardson)
2/6 - Dominion's gymnasium was packed long before tip-off of the big game and the Titans' student cheering section, the D-Block, was in full effect all night. (Joel Richardson)
2/6 - Dominion celebrates its first ever Dulles District championship after defeating Potomac Falls to clinch the regular season title. (Photo courtesy of Maryanna Conboy)
2/10 - After a disappointing start to the Dulles District season, first team All-Region senior Joe Bushrod and Loudoun County won 10 of their final 11 regular season games - including a 67-55 win over Freedom - and advanced to the semifinals of the Region II Division 4 tournament. They finished the season 17-8. (Tracy A. Woodward)
2/13 - Broad Run Coach John Costello (Dulles District Division 4 Coach of the Year) and Dominion's Steve Douglas (Dulles District Division 3 Coach of the Year) chat prior to their team's regular season finales at Broad Run. The Titans won it 63-60 on DeAndre Reaves' buzzer-beating three-pointer in overtime in one of the best games of the season. The two teams would meet again - for the fourth time - in the district title game. (Matt Brooks)
2/21 - Dominion's DeAndre Albritton waits to make his move as the third quarter clock winds down during the Dulles District tournament final against Broad Run at Freedom High School. (Matt Brooks)
2/21 - With poised play down the stretch and big contributions from their big men, the Spartans avenged the loss in the season finale, claiming the Dulles District tournament title with a 74-67 victory. After the final buzzer sounded they celebrated on the court with their fans, the Maroon Crew. (Matt Brooks)
2/26 - In only his second year at the helm, Dominion Coach Steve Douglas led the Titans to the state tournament - the first team to reach that plateau since the Valley fell to Brunswick in the 1988 state championship. Douglas was a starting guard on that team and his father, Scott Douglas, was the coach. (Tracy A. Woodward)
3/7 - DeAndre Reaves, Joe Williams and the Dominion Titans were hyped up to play Brunswick in the AA Division 3 state quarterfinals at VCU's Siegel Center. The Dulles District regular season champions and Region II runners-up advanced further than any boys' basketball team in Loudoun has since the 1988 Loudoun Valley Vikings. (Matt Brooks)
3/7 - Despite a gritty defensive effort, the shots just didn't fall for DeAndre Albritton and Dominion and the Titans season came to an end in a 48-36 loss to Brunswick in the state quarterfinals. (Matt Brooks)
The Spartans exacted their revenge in the Dulles District tournament final, out-lasting the Titans to claim the title and secure a first round bye in the Region II tournament. With the new playoff format, a record five Dulles District teams earned a place in the regional round and three of them - Dominion, Broad Run and Loudoun County - found themselves one win away from a trip to the state tournament.
Only the Titans reached the plateau, finishing runners-up in the Division 3 tournament and earning a berth in the state bracket. There they fell to a defensively stout Brunswick team, but not before putting together the best athletic campaign for any sports team at Dominion High School.
Here is the season in photos.
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