Leesburg, Va. — After trailing for most of the night, the Loudoun Valley High School basketball team found themselves in a tie game with less than 90 seconds to play and the Dulles District championship on the line. Like they had done early in the game, the Vikings were completely content slowing down their offense—and without a shot clock—were ready to hold for the last shot.
That was until, with about a minute left, Loudoun Valley sophomore shooting guard Jayden Johnson looked to the bench where his coach recognized an opportunity for an easy bucket. Johnson—who was being face guarded at the free throw line—flashed his hand to sophomore point guard Landen Conrad, who made a perfectly executed entry pass over the top, which Johnson finished with ease to put Loudoun Valley up 35-33.
“We were holding for the last shot, but I looked over at Coach Dawson and he told me I had the basket,” Johnson said. “I looked at Landen, showed my hand, and he made a great pass for a wide open look.”
That go-ahead score was the highlight of Johnson’s 27-point performance—and 18-point second half—as he carried the Vikings to the Dulles District championship over rival Loudoun County, 38-35, on February 18 in Leesburg.
“I’m at a loss for words right now,” Johnson said. “Coming back after being down the whole game and taking the lead last second, it took a lot of heart.”
[adrotate banner=”53″]Johnson is the linchpin that keeps the Vikings’ offense afloat as the sophomore guard made tough shot after tough shot in the second half, despite a concerted effort by the Captains to keep him off balance.
“He’s unbelievable,” Loudoun Valley head coach Chad Dawson said. “As the year’s gone on he’s gotten to the point where he doesn’t get frustrated. Even if he only scores four points in a quarter, he knows that eventually there will be a crack, and if they give him a crack, he can make things happen. He’s a really special player.”
Even after taking the lead late, the Vikings weren’t out of the weeds just yet. After Johnson connected on both shots on a trip to the free throw line, Loudoun County senior guard Brendan Boyers cut through the lane and finished with his left to cut the lead to 37-35.
Then, with about 10 seconds left, the Vikings missed the front half of a one-and-one, giving the Captains hope, but Loudoun Valley sophomore guard Cole Kielhorn collected the offensive rebound and was then fouled and headed to the line.
Kielhorn missed the first half of his one-and-one attempt as well and the Captains got out in transition. Boyers took the same route he had taken to tie things up just a few seconds before, but Kielhorn had it defended as the attempt missed.
On the other end, Loudoun Valley sophomore forward Nathan Boner connected on his first free throw attempt to put the Vikings up 38-35. Boner missed the second attempt which was corralled by Boyers, who pushed the ball up court and found senior point guard Jimmy Daughtrey, who sent up a prayer from about 25 feet, but his shot hit the front of the rim as Loudoun Valley celebrated its 38-35 win.
Despite the win, the Vikings (12-3, 21-4) will enter the VHSL Region 4C tournament as the Dulles District’s No. 2—as seedings were determined based on the regular season standings—and will travel to Northwestern District champion Sherando for a region semifinal on February 22. The Captains (13-2, 19-6) will host Northwestern District runner up Kettle Run on the same night.
“This group is really special. They don’t care who steps up, they just want to win, and that’s evident in how they play,” Dawson said. “We’ll enjoy this one a little bit, but Tuesday is what we want to focus on.”
Svemir Brkic captured 200+ photos at the game!
Loudoun Valley Stats
| Loudoun Valley | Points | Rebounds | Assists | Steals | Blocks | FT |
| Jayden Johnson | 27 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4-for-4 |
| Landen Conrad | 4 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0-for-0 |
| Brett Zimmet | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2-for-2 |
| Ben Hall | 2 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0-for-0 |
| Nathan Boner | 1 | 7 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1-for-3 |
| Cole Kielhorn | 0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0-for-1 |
| Aaron Babu | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0-for-0 |
| Joey Danielson | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0-for-0 |
| John Hasle | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0-for-0 |
| Totals | 38 | 28 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 7-for-10 |
Loudoun County Stats
| Loudoun County | Points | Rebounds | Assists | Steals | Blocks | FT |
| Nick Alexander | 15 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1-for-2 |
| Jack West | 7 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0-for-0 |
| Brendan Boyers | 5 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0-for-0 |
| Jimmy Daughtrey | 3 | 4 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 3-for-4 |
| Joey Fitzpatrick | 3 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 1-for-2 |
| Braxton Griffin | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2-for-2 |
| Zach Hensch | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0-for-0 |
| Caiden Bonamassa | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0-for-0 |
| Totals | 35 | 16 | 9 | 4 | 3 | 7-for-10 |