Underdogs come through in basketball match-ups

By BRIAN WRIGHT
For the Stafford County Sun

From the Northwest Region boys’ and girls’ basketball tournaments, two underdogs prevailed. Patrick Henry and Osbourn Park were the only clubs to celebrate…and carry the momentum into the state tourneys.

Boys’ Basketball

“Oh Henry!” Would be a proper headline for this one. The Roanoke-based school built up a commanding 35-12 advantage at the halftime break on Monday evening and wouldn’t be challenged much to the end of the contest. The Patriots claimed their first regional title in 18 years. And most of it was due to the three-point shot. Henry had 11 treys. Terrell Wilson led all scorers with 20 points. The Pats move on to face the Langley Saxons in the Group AAA quarterfinal Saturday at the Salem Civic Center starting at 3:45 p.m. Gar-Field finishes its season at 19-5 and got fine efforts from Corey Bonds who dropped in 18 points and Jeremiah Johnson’s 14.

Girls’ Basketball

On the road at Stonewall Jackson, the Osbourn Park girls’ team knocked off the heavy favorites on their home floor. In a 66-48 win, the offensive effort was balanced among many key contributors. Rachel Gordon led her team with 16 points to go along with 15 rebounds. Destiny Shearin scored 13, with Katie Tassa netting 11. Alexis Carter and Destiny White nearly got into double figures, finishing with nine points apiece. The score was 38-37 with just under 2:30 remaining in the third period. From then on out, it was all Yellow Jackets. They went on an 8-0 run to finish the period and would pull away some more in the fourth. Osbourn Park advances to play West Springfield on Saturday. The Spartans were the runner-up in the Northern Region. There was serious drama on the road to the regional title. Tassa hit a remarkable three-pointer in the district semifinals to beat Potomac.

Brian Wright is a contributing writer for the Stafford County Sun. Reach him at info@staffordcountysun.com.