Leesburg, Va. — Midway through the third quarter, the Stone Bridge High School boys basketball team had expanded its lead to 14, but the Riverside Rams wouldn’t go away. Then early in the fourth quarter, the Bulldogs re-expanded their lead to 10, before the Rams once again cut the lead to 4.
Down the stretch, the Rams answered just about every Bulldogs’ basket, but in the end, the double-digit lead Stone Bridge had created in the third proved to be too much for Riverside to overcome as the Bulldogs held off the Rams, 63-60, on January 14 in Leesburg.
“We’re still putting things together, because this is only game five with eight new players,” Stone Bridge head coach Kent Kling said. “There were some tight rims early, and we didn’t shoot well from the free throw line, but we did enough to get the win.”
[adrotate banner=”53″]While the Bulldogs struggled from the free throw line, their ability to get to and finish at the rim was the difference against the Rams. Led by senior guard Jacob Thomas, junior guard Domenic Duncan, and junior forward Sam Whitehead—who each finished in double figures—Stone Bridge spread the ball around to eight different scorers, keeping the Riverside defense honest throughout the night.
“My goal is to get ten points from each of our starters then get five points each from our bench players,” Kling said. “That’s going to add up to 70 and that’s where we want to be.”
Through eleven games, Stone Bridge is averaging 62 points per game—thanks in part to Whitehead’s 24 points per game, however, over their last five games—with the return of their football players who were busy repeating at VHSL Class 5 State champs—the Bulldogs are much closer to their 70 points per game goal.
It’s been a month since Thomas turned in his state-championship-winning football cleats for a pair of reigning state-championship-winning basketball shoes, but the Stone Bridge senior already looks like he’s in midseason form.
Through his first five games, Thomas is averaging 11 points, 10 rebounds, and 6 assists, after turning in his best game of the season against Riverside in the form of an 18-point, 12-rebound double-double.
“He’s close to a triple-double every night,” Kling said. “He’s always asking ‘coach, what do you need me to do?’ He’s just a super athlete.”
When it mattered most, the Bulldogs turned to their star to take care of the basketball—and along with Duncan—to force the issue on the defensive end, as Stone Bridge forced five Riverside turnovers in the fourth quarter.
Despite turning the ball over 18 times on the night, the Rams never wavered and kept the game within striking distance down the stretch.
After junior forward Tai Schaefer got into early foul trouble, Riverside turned to its bench where senior forward Cameron Koscinski rose to the occasion, finishing with a game-high 25 points while chipping in 9 rebounds, including 13 points and 4 rebounds in the fourth quarter alone.
In the final six seconds, Koscinski knocked down four technical free throws and a quick shot in the paint, but the effort was too little too late as the Bulldogs held off the Rams to earn an impressive Potomac District win.
Still early in the district season, Stone Bridge (2-0, 10-1) is preparing to make another deep run in the playoffs, hoping to defend its 2021 VHSL Class 5 State title, while Riverside (1-1, 7-5) hopes to use its deep bench to upset the Bulldogs’ repeat hopes.
“We have 16-17 guys on the roster; we’re trying to get them minutes, so we know who we can trust down the stretch,” Kling said. “We need to prepare up front, so we know which tools are sharp at the end of the season.”
Derrick Jerry captured 80+ photos at the game!
Stone Bridge Stats
| Stone Bridge | Points | Rebounds | Assists | Steals | Blocks | FT |
| Jacob Thomas | 18 | 12 | 2 | 4 | 2 | 2-for-11 |
| Sam Whitehead | 11 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 4-for-4 |
| Domenic Duncan | 10 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1-for-2 |
| Dylan Hundertmark | 8 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 4-for-7 |
| Rico Brown | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3-for-4 |
| Matt Detweiler | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0-for-0 |
| Julian Copeland | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 2-for-4 |
| Omar Abushaban | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0-for-0 |
| Jackson Mazur | 0 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0-for-0 |
| Kaden Limcaoco | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0-for-0 |
| Totals | 63 | 34 | 8 | 11 | 3 | 16-for-32 |
Riverside Stats
| Riverside | Points | Rebounds | Assists | Steals | Blocks | FT |
| Cameron Koscinski | 25 | 9 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 5-for-6 |
| Jaden Frazier | 8 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 5-for-6 |
| Jamie Ntiamoah | 7 | 11 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 0-for-2 |
| Griffin Ullsperger | 6 | 6 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 1-for-1 |
| Connor Stredrick | 6 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0-for-4 |
| Tyler Flynn | 3 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3-for-5 |
| Tai Schaefer | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0-for-0 |
| Will Lind | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2-for-4 |
| John Paul Dausch | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1-for-2 |
| Kyle Hogan | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0-for-0 |
| Tyler Carlton | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0-for-0 |
| Galileo Thomas | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0-for-0 |
| Totals | 60 | 36 | 8 | 7 | 3 | 17-for-30 |