Leesburg (January 8, 2013) – The Heritage High School boys basketball team, which had the entire winter holiday to mull over a tough loss to Dulles District leader Loudoun Valley, bounced back from the break last Wednesday by knocking off the Briar Woods Falcons, 70-56. Heritage committed just five turnovers in their first outing of the New Year.
“We always try to limit ourselves to under 10 turnovers,” said Heritage head coach Greg Grimes. “We haven’t been able to do that for much of the season, but five that’s impressive.”
The Pride (9-3 overall, 5-3 in the district), led offensively by senior forward Mister Lewis (18 points, 8 rebounds) and junior guard Zach Coffman (18 points), took an 8-point lead after the first period of play thanks to the scoring of senior guard Bryan Launi (15 points, 8 rebounds) who accounted for eight points in the quarter. Bryan’s brother Erik Launi added 11 points and seven rebounds for the Pride in the game.
“Every night [Lewis, Coffman, Bryan, Erik and Jesse Case] have the chance to put up double digit numbers,” said Grimes. “They work well together.”
Heritage forced 10 more turnovers than the Falcons (3-5, 2-3), 15 in all, and did not turn the ball over even one time in the first half. More importantly than that, the Pride guards only turned the ball over one time total.
Grimes and the Pride started the game utilizing a full court man press before dropping into a 2-3 zone. Briar Woods senior forward Jake Ryan took advantage of gaps in the zone in the first half scoring 11 points in the half.
However, Heritage changed the defensive scheme in the second half and Lewis, for the majority of the final half, had the responsibility of guarding Ryan, who was held to just three second half points.
Falcons’ junior guard Spencer Hatcher led Briar Woods with 18 points.
Often seen as a high scoring, “run-and-gun” offensive team, Heritage scored a multitude of points off turnovers. Recently overlooked by some, has been the defensive presence of the Pride’s Sixth Man, junior guard Paul Conteh.
While Conteh may not stand out in the scorebook each game, his hustle on the court is a key component for the Pride.
Grimes added that Conteh adds a different dimension to the Pride as the Sixth Man. Defensively he brings a lot to the table, forcing turnovers and throwing opposing shooters off their game.
Heritage Stats
Jesse Case 4 points, 1 rebound, 1 steal, 2/2 free throws, 1 assist
Mister Lewis 18 points, 8 rebounds, 1 steal, 3/4 free throws, 2 assists
Bryan Launi 15 points, 8 rebounds, 2 steals, 1 blocked shot, 1/2 free throws, 1 assist
Erik Launi 11 points, 7 rebounds, 2 steals, 2 blocked shots, 3/5 free throws, 3 assists
Zach Coffman 18 points, 2 steals, 7/8 free throws, 1 assist
Paul Conteh 4 points, 1 rebound, 1 steal, 0/2 free throws, 2 assists
Morris Robinson 2 rebounds, 0/2 free throws
HHS Totals
70 points, 27 rebounds, 5 turnovers, 9 steals, 3 blocked shots, 16/25 free throws, 10 assists
Briar Woods Stats
Kevin Galang 7 points, 1 rebound, 3/4 rebounds
Connor Gaines 2 points, 2 rebounds, 1 steal, 2/2 free throws, 2 assists
Ryan Lam 4 points, 10 rebounds, 1 blocked shot
Jake Ryan 14 points, 3 rebounds, 1 blocked shot
Spencer Hatcher 18 points, 4 rebounds, 7/8 free throws
Darrell Ramey 3 rebounds
Logan Reed 7 points, 1 rebound
Adrian Nicholson 4 points, 3 rebounds, 4/4 free throws
BWHS Totals
56 points, 27 rebounds, 15 turnovers, 1 steal, 2 blocked shots, 16/18 free throws, 2 assists