Quick-starting Mustangs blow past Eagles

By Jerry Holsworth - sports@nvdaily.com

BERRYVILLE -- In the race for first place in Bull Run District boys basketball on Friday night, George Mason came out of the gate like a race horse and Clarke County simply didn't come out at all.

The result was a game that was over, despite a nearly fantastic comeback attempt by the Eagles, after the first eight minutes of play with the Mustangs still in control of the district after handing Clarke County 51-38 loss.

Both teams' defenses dominated play briefly at the beginning of the game, but a layup by Mustangs forward Rand Walter with 6:58 left in the opening quarter set George Mason off on a 12-0 run that left the Eagles in the dust almost immediately after the opening whistle.

"The first quarter just killed us," Eagles coach Brent Emmart said. "We really picked a bad night to play that way. When only one or maybe two guys start off slow like that, you can make up for it with other players. But when they're all slow like that, it really hurts. Only scoring two points in a quarter of boys basketball is something that really makes you scratch your head."

Clarke County (10-6, 6-3 Bull Run) was as cold as the Mustangs were hot, missing its first seven shots and finishing the quarter 1 of 11 from the field.

The George Mason (13-3, 8-1 Bull Run) surge was a team effort, as seven different players scored points in the quarter, including 3-pointers by Phillipe Griffith, Eion Oosterbaan and Noel Obusan. With almost every Mustangs player contributing points, George Mason took an amazing 20-2 lead into the second period.

"You never expect to be ahead 20-2, especially on the road in a packed house against a team like Clarke County," Mustangs coach Chris Capannola said. "On offense we moved the ball around real well and found the open man. Clarke County missed several easy shots in the first quarter that allowed us to get a big lead, but for most of the game they played us a really tough game."

Credit must be given to Clarke County for the way the Eagles responded to the humiliating first quarter. From the beginning of play in the second quarter until the last whistle to end the game, the Eagles fought back with a passion that only an 18-point, first-period deficit could contain.

The fanatical effort by Clarke County, however, did come with a price, and the Eagles paid it in full in the second period.

Refusing to give the Mustangs any more easy shots, three key Clarke County players ended the first half in serious foul trouble. Point guard Connor Shendow and center Alex Sefton had three fouls at intermission, and forward Todd Benton had four.

The other price was eight turnovers, as the Eagles played at a furious pace through the second quarter.

The effort did play off in the most critical statistic, though. After being outscored by 18 points in the first period, Clarke County outscored George Mason 11-9 in the second. In fact, the first quarter and the last quarter were the only quarters where the Eagles didn't produce more points than the Mustangs.

After the intermission, Clarke County played with even more drive. Offensively, Benton led the Eagles' comeback in the period, scoring 10 of his 12 points in the period to get Clarke County to within eight points of George Mason, 39-31, with 56 seconds left in the period.

Davey Hardesty also played an important role in the Eagles' resurgence, scoring four points in the period and finishing the night with a team-high 14 points, including a near perfect 6 of 7 from the free-throw line.

The Mustangs recovered in the final seconds of the third quarter to push back ahead by 12 at 43-31 heading into the final quarter.

With the Eagles now controlling the momentum, George Mason decided to do the one thing that would guarantee that Clarke County would not steal the win. They froze the ball.

Taking as much time as possible each trip down the floor and not attempting a shot unless it was an open layup, the Mustang gave the Eagles few opportunities to score points.

Clarke County did attempt 13 shots during the period, but most were 3-pointers from well behind the line and only one proved successful. The result was a period where only 15 points were scored total.

Nate Ogle led the Mustangs with 16 points, mostly from inside the paint against Sefton, who was trying not to foul out. Obusan was also in double figures with 11 points.