GCM Beats McLean, Slips to South Lakes

The George C. Marshall High School boys basketball team split a pair of Liberty District games as they headed into to the Gaithersburg Lions Holiday Tournament this week.

Poor shooting doomed the Statesmen against powerhouse South Lakes, as a four of 23 performance in the first half led to a 38-11 halftime deficit.

“They shot with a lot of confidence,” Marshall Head Coach Kevin Weeren said. “We played better in the third quarter but we couldn’t dig ourselves out of that hole.”

South Lakes held Marshall’s two leading scorers Alex Shek and Bilal Ahmad to just two points apiece. Patrick McClain led the Statesmen with 14 points and five rebounds.

The 83-41 final score accounted for the worst loss for Weeren since taking over the Marshall program. South Lakes meanwhile pushed its district winning streak to 18 games dating back to last year.

Marshall bounced back Dec. 21 against McLean, topping their foe 67-44. The offensive performance was exactly opposite that of the South Lakes, the Statesmen shot nearly 60-percent from the field. That performance pushed them out to a 14-6 first quarter lead that they would never relinquish. Daniel Dixon lead the team with 13 points, seven assists and four steals, while Shek also scored 13 points, while adding eight rebounds and three assists.

McClain and Qaiser Ahmed each scored 10 points for the Statesmen in the win.

Marshall took part in the Gaithersburg Holiday Tournament Dec. 27-29 where it matched up against some very tough competition in the way of Gaithersburg city champs Cardozo Monday before facing their second-round opponent. The field also included a AAAAA school from Texas. “This field wasn’t quite so tough when I signed us up for the tournament,” Weeren said. “Hopefully we can come away with a win, stay close and get some experience and confidence.”