Basketball Briefs

Falls Church Boys

The Edison Eagles made the Jaguars’ stay in the National District Tournament a short one, offing Falls Church 68-61. A sterling 27-point effort by junior guard Chris Edwards including seven three pointers, was not enough to hold off the No. 2 Eagles. The Jags led at the half 30-29, but couldn’t hold off their opponent on its home court down the stretch, as tough Edison defense shut down the Jags in the fourth quarter.

Junior Chris Jerro scored 12 points in the contest, while senior James Gannon added nine. The Jaguars had beaten Edison 55-53 in a Jan. 25 contest earlier this season. The loss ends the Jags’ season with a 7-14 overall mark. The loss also marked the final game for seniors Gannon, Mo Fadalla (who scored six points) and Torrean Alexander.

Edwards finished the season averaging 2.1 three-pointers per game, the second highest per-game average in the District.

Falls Church Girls

Like their male counterparts, the Lady Jags lost their opening-round contest, falling to Yorktown 58-32. Sophomore Marie Mansaray led the Jags with 10 points, while Mary Pat Abraham and Karla Cortez added five points apiece. But the inside presence of Yorktown’s Brianna Arthurs proved too much, as the junior recorded a double-double with 16 points and 14 rebounds. The loss concludes a 1-22 campaign for Falls Church and served as the final game for senior center Whitney Stan and guard Bebe Kim.

Marshall Boys

Less than five days after sustaining a possible arm fracture that doctors told him would sideline him for two weeks, senior guard Alex Shek received clearance to play just before the game and gutted through four quarters against Liberty District Tournament first round foe Fairfax. But on this day, guts alone would not be enough to get the Statesmen passed an equally determined opponent.

The fifth-seeded Rebels held off a late fourth-quarter run by the fourth-seeded Statesmen to pull out a 53-47 victory Tuesday night. Trailing 36-23 at the end of the fourth quarter, the Statesmen pulled a head with just under four minutes left on a three-pointer by Qaiser Ahmed.

However, Fairfax center J.D. Skolnitsky took over down the stretch, scoring six of the Rebel’s final 13 points, en route to a game-high 19 points. The arm injury clearly had an impact on Shek, who tallied just 11 points and none in the fourth quarter. Earlier this season Shek had scored 28 points against Fairfax.

Daniel Dixon led the Statesmen with 12 points. Qaiser Ahmed finished the game with nine points, while his brother Bilal Ahmad chipped in with five. Patrick McLain likewise added five points for Marshall. Marshall concludes its season with a 12-11 overall record.

Shek finished the season fifth in the Liberty District in scoring and eighth in rebounding, averaging 12.7 points and 4.6 rebounds per game.

The Statesmen concluded the regular season on a high note, posting a 42-38 victory over Langley High School on Coaches vs. Cancer Night last Friday to lock up fourth place in the Liberty District. The evening also served as Senior Night, as fans bid farewell to the likes of Shek (who scored a game-high 17 points before injuring his arm), Ahmad, guard Kenan Samman and guard Brandon Wallace. The final total amount raised for the American Cancer Society that night are still being totaled, but the goal was set at $7,000. Over the previous four years the event has contributed more than $10,000 to cancer awareness and research.

Marshall Girls

The Lady Statesmen made short work of Fairfax Tuesday, prevailing 71-42 to advance to the semi-finals of the Liberty District Tournament against Langley.

The win for Marshall (18-5), turned around a two-game losing streak. After losing on the road to regular season district champ W.T. Woodson, the Statesmen fell again to Langley on its Senior Night last Friday, 59-50.

Following the win against Fairfax (5-16), the Statesmen will have a chance to avenge their most recent loss when they square off against the Saxons tonight. Marshall used an explosive second quarter to pull out to a 34-18 halftime lead and then finished off their foe one the strength of 13 second-half points by Amanda Brown.

Brown, who also had five steals, finished the game with 19 points to compliment Anna Steg’s 16-point performance. Nicole Harrison (13 points, seven rebounds, six assists), Kaitlyn Johnson (12) and Caryl Spoden (nine) also chipped into the balanced scoring effort. Katie Mesich scored two points to round out the score.

Langley enters Thursday night’s contest coming off a 38-36 OT win against Lee. In the other semi-final game, Madison squares off against W.T. Woodson.

McLean Boys

Madison halted the Highlanders’ second-season Tuesday night, dispatching McLean 56-37. McLean held a 24-20 halftime lead, and a 34-30 lead after three quarters, but fell away in the wake of a 26-3 fourth-quarter scoring blitz by Madison.

Junior Josh Shapiro led the scoring efforts with 11 points for the Highlanders. Senior Basem Ammoury (nine points, three rebounds) and junior Brendan McCook (seven points, three rebounds) also figured prominently in the effort. With the loss, the Highlanders’ season comes to a close with a final mark of 3-19. Ammoury finished fifth in the league in rebounding and third in assists, averaging 5.4 rebounds and 3 assists per game.

McLean Girls

McLean simply could not get anything going against Madison in Tuesday night’s Liberty District Tournament opener, falling 46-19 to conclude its 8-13 season.

Senior Virginia Altmeyer led the team with five points in the loss.

Stuart Boys

The Raiders couldn’t survive the first round of the National District Tournament, slipping 73-58 to Washington and Lee. Junior Nader Shehadeh’s 18 points led the Raiders in the scoring column, joined by senior Jonathan Sok with eight points, junior Dionte Beatty with seven, and junior Johnny Wang with six.

The loss caps a 6-16 season for the Raiders, though it did include a win over rival Falls Church High School.

Stuart Girls

The J.E.B. Stuart girls couldn’t add a third win to their season total Tuesday and succumbed 51-27 to Mt. Vernon it the first round of the National District Tournament.

Senior Amanda Thompson led the team in scoring with seven points for the Raiders, while Daisha Grayson added six. Sophomore Betty Appiah, a large factor throughout the season for the Raiders, managed only one point in the loss. The Radiers conclude their season with a mark of 2-20, a two-win improvement over last year’s record.

Mike Hume may be emailed at mhume@fcnp.com