Ashburn, Va. — As the reigning Class 5 State champs, you want to defend your house. And entering their regular season finale, the Stone Bridge High School boys basketball team had done a good job of that, dropping just one home game all season.
But that task becomes much more challenging when you host a well-coached, disciplined basketball team that had already clinched the No. 1 seed in the district.
Despite trailing after the third quarter, the Bulldogs were up for the challenge as they opened the fourth on a 19-5 run to knock off Potomac Falls, 68-62, on February 10 in Ashburn.
“They run their sets very well. They’re very methodical in what they do,” Stone Bridge head coach Kent Kling said. “We’re striving to be like that. And we can do it. Our players have the ability to break it open like we did at the end of last season.”
[adrotate banner=”53″]Just a year removed from a huge comeback win in the 2021 VHSL 5A State championship game, the Bulldogs knew they would have their work cut out for them in 2022 in a Potomac District that was completely up for grabs. And while the win over Potomac Falls didn’t impact the playoff seedings, it did set the tone for what Stone Bridge has to do to make another deep postseason run.
“At some point, it needed to click where they played together and moved the ball,” Kling said. “Tonight was huge for us because we played more like a team.”
Trailing 43-42 heading into the fourth quarter, the Bulldogs started to share the ball when it mattered most. On the second offensive possession of the fourth, junior forward Sam Whitehead secured an offensive rebound and went back up, getting fouled in the process while finishing at the rim.
Two possessions later senior point guard Dylan Hundertmark found Whitehead alone in the corner as the sharpshooter buried a three to give Stone Bridge a 48-45 lead.
With all eyes on Whitehead, junior guard Kaden Limcaoco was left open on the next two possessions as he knocked down a pair of threes to extend the Bulldogs’ lead to 54-48.
Down the stretch, it was Whitehead’s ability to finish at the rim, Hundertmark’s free throw shooting, and the Bulldogs’ turnover-creating defense that allowed Stone Bridge to complete their comeback, defend their home court, and end the regular season with a big win against the No. 1 team in the Potomac District.
“Coach [Jeff] Hawes is going to have his team play good, team ball. We just had to counter it,” Kling said. “Defensively, we were able to scramble and pick each other up. We were a little more athletic up front so we threw a different press on them and it seemed to work and we were able to get some turnovers.”
In the win, Stone Bridge forced 20 turnovers thanks in part to the play of seniors Rico Brown, Zach Laing, Jacob Thomas, and Hundertmark, who finished with at least a steal each on senior night. The Bulldogs also celebrated seniors Matt Detweiler, Jonathan Dudley, Curtis Gardner, and Colin Hart in the win.
“The seniors did a good job to start the game and kept it close,” Kling said. “We wanted to get all the seniors their time, because they’ve been here day-in and day-out, and I think it set the tone for us because it showed how much of a team we are.”
No. 3 Stone Bridge (6-4, 14-5) is back in action on February 14 when they host No. 6 Woodgrove (1-9, 8-13) in a Potomac District quarterfinal in Ashburn.
Mike Ferrara captured 150+ photos at the game!
Stone Bridge Stats
| Stone Bridge | Points | Rebounds | Assists | Steals | Blocks | FT |
| Sam Whitehead | 18 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1-for-1 |
| Dylan Hundertmark | 16 | 2 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 8-for-12 |
| Jacob Thomas | 9 | 6 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 1-for-2 |
| Domenic Duncan | 7 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0-for-0 |
| Kaden Limcaoco | 6 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0-for-0 |
| Matt Detweiler | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0-for-0 |
| Jackson Mazur | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1-for-2 |
| Jonathan Dudley | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0-for-0 |
| Zach Laing | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0-for-0 |
| Rico Brown | 1 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1-for-2 |
| Orion Hayes | 0 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0-for-0 |
| Gee Coulthurst | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0-for-2 |
| Omar Abushaban | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0-for-0 |
| Darren Sluss | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0-for-0 |
| Julian Copeland | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0-for-0 |
| Curtis Gardner | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0-for-0 |
| Colin Hart | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0-for-0 |
| Totals | 68 | 26 | 14 | 13 | 1 | 12-for-21 |
Potomac Falls Stats
| Potomac Falls | Points | Rebounds | Assists | Steals | Blocks | FT |
| Elijah Adegbenro | 11 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 3-for-5 |
| John Opiola | 10 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2-for-7 |
| Owen Levenhagen | 9 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1-for-2 |
| James Delaney | 8 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2-for-2 |
| Aidan Apietu | 7 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1-for-2 |
| Gavin Plunkett | 6 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0-for-1 |
| Joshua Prince | 5 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 3-for-4 |
| Kyle Ables | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 3-for-4 |
| Justin Opiola | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0-for-0 |
| Jalen Jackson | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0-for-0 |
| Landon Wollmuth | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0-for-0 |
| Totals | 62 | 25 | 8 | 4 | 2 | 15-for-29 |