Mustang JV Boys Capture District Crown over Clarke

A free throw by sophomore Jack Settje with seven seconds remaining gave the George Mason High School boys JV basketball team the margin it needed to snatch away the the Bull Run District Championship on Clarke County’s home court Tuesday night. The win avenges two regular-season losses to the Eagles.

Settje led the team with 11 points to go along with five rebounds, three steals and three blocks. Sophomore Matt Epling racked up a double-double with 11 points and 10 rebounds, while freshman Jake Johnson (six points, five boards, four steals) and sophomore Alex Goetting (six points, seven rebounds) figured prominently as well, along with freshman Tim Brooks (four points, six rebounds), sophomore Cody Roden-Reynolds (three points, eight rebounds). Complimentary performances were also turned in by freshman Alex Prewitt and Mike Straub, and eighth grader Taylor Hayes-Leak.

“It was a very good team effort and the guards played a key role,” Mason Head Coach LaBryan Thomas said. “They were the deciding factor, Prewitt and Goetting, without them we might not have made it.”

The championship comes at the end of what could have been a trying season for the team. Early on, the squad lost sophomore Ryan Larcamp who had been a dominating force early on. During the course of the season, freshman point guard Mike Schwengel was called up to the varsity. “If we had Larcamp we could have gone undefeated,” Thomas said. “Losing Mike Schwengel was also key, but Prewitt, Goetting and Johnson pulled it off. They were a great trio.”

Adam Chandler contributed to this report.

Mike Hume may be emailed at mhume@fcnp.com