Marshall Wrestlers Take Fifth in Tourney; Bring Record to .500

The George C. Marshall High School boys varsity basketball team competed in the Gaithersburg Fight for Sight Holiday Tournament at Quince Orchard High School in Gaithersburg, Md. last week. The team concluded the three-day event with a 1-2 record, but competed admirably against some very big competition.

In the first game of the tournament the Statesmen squared off against Cardozo High School, the reigning city champs and currently ranked No. 11 in the region by The Washington Post.

The Statesmen trailed by six as the third quarter drew to a close, but with ten seconds remaining, Marshall junior Daniel Dixon stripped the ball from a defender and went the length of the court for a layup to make the score 34-30. In the fourth quarter the Statesmen continued to chip away and at the end of regulation knotted the score at 39 to send the contest to overtime. Marshall couldn’t muster more than four points in the extra-frame however, and Cardozo prevailed 47-43. Senior Bilal Ahmad (17 points) and sophomore Qaiser Ahmed (13 points) led the Statesmen offense.

The was no respite for Marshall in the tournament’s second game, as the team squared off against AAAAA Memorial High School from Victoria, Texas, a state semi-finalist last season. The larger foe, had little difficulty dispatching the Statesmen to improve to 12-5 on the season. Ahmed again played a large role in the offense, scoring 17 points, while Dixon contributed 15 and senior Alex Shek added 14. The Statesmen gained some confidence in their final match of the tournament, obliterating Barrie School of Maryland 66-36. Ahmed scored 18, while Ahmad scored 12.

Following the tournament, Marshall’s record stands at 5-5. (Lee?) The team next faces district foe Madison at home at 7:30 p.m.

Mike Hume may be emailed at mhume@fcnp.com