Ashburn, Va. — The Stone Bridge High School boys basketball team started their season not really knowing what to expect. Returning just one guy who saw regular playing time last winter, the Bulldogs knew they’d have to rely on their youth and their athleticism to have success this season.
Most young teams can feel trapped when they fall into a 13-point first half deficit, but the Bulldogs never wavered when they faced that predicament in their Potomac District opener against Lightridge.
Instead, the Bulldogs battled back, outrebounded the Lightning 46-23, and took complete control in the second half thanks to the scoring prowess of sophomore guards Kevin Reyes and Carter Burnes, before storming past the Lightning, 74-60, on January 13 in Ashburn.
“We have really good kids,” Stone Bridge head coach Kent Kling said. “The coaches want to come in and coach because the kids are respectful, they work hard, they listen 80% of the time. Our culture is definitely different from the last few years.”
After the Bulldogs jumped on the board with two early buckets, the Lightning started to find their rhythm as sophomore forward Farrell Djossinou (19 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals) knocked down a triple to get his team going.
Lightridge senior guard Dylan Lewis gave the Lightning their first lead of the night on a nice finish before senior shooting guard Thanush Buneti (12 points) buried a transition three off a steal from Lewis to extend the Lightridge lead to 8-4.
On the ensuing Stone Bridge position, Djossinou blocked a shot then found senior guard Max Kerr for a layup as the Lightning grabbed control midway through the first.
Following back-to-back baskets by Stone Bridge, the Lightning closed the first quarter on an 8-0 scoring run—highlighted by a pair of offensive rebounds and putbacks by senior center Jeric Uptgraft (6 points, 4 rebounds)—to close the first frame up 18-8.
Trailing by 10, the Bulldogs turned to their young guards to keep them afloat as Reyes (25 points, 6 rebounds, 3 assists) scored to open the second quarter before trading three pointers with Buneti to make it 22-13.
A pair of Djossinou free throws re-extended the Lightning lead to 11, but a steal then finish by Burnes started the momentum shift for the Bulldogs.
After forcing an off-balance shot on the next possession, the Bulldogs ran the floor where junior guard Sam Rubino (16 points, 3 rebounds, 2 assists) found Burnes (20 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists, 3 steals) beyond the arc for his first triple of the night.
Lightridge senior guard Brooks Morgan (11 points, 2 rebounds, 2 steals) answered with a tough and-one then stole a pass and finished to once again give the Lightning a double-digit lead. Then, Kerr scored off a steal from Morgan before Kerr returned the favor on a steal and assist to Morgan to give Lightridge its largest lead of the night at 33-20.
Looking for an answer to the aggressiveness of the Lightridge defense, the Bulldogs turned to the three ball as Burnes found Rubino for three before junior forward Kedric Golston II (5 points, 13 rebounds, 5 assists, 2 steals) found Burnes for three late in the second quarter.
On the Bulldogs’ second to last possession of the first half, Golston II once again found Burnes deep and the sure-shooting sophomore found the bottom of the neck to cut the Lightridge lead to 33-29 heading into the half.
“He’s a scorer,” Kling said. “We’ve let him start games, and we’ve let him come off the bench, because we’re trying to teach them to never get comfortable with the opportunities they have.”
Having trailed for most of the first half, Stone Bridge took an early lead in the second half when Burnes found Golston II down low for an easy layup as the Bulldogs went up 36-35.
“We needed to bring more energy,” Burnes said. “We weren’t playing any defense, so we just needed to lock in on defense, rebound, and share the ball around.”
A Buneti three pointer gave the Lightning their last lead of the game as Rubino scored on a short jumper off a Golston II assist before Reyes assisted Rubino on yet another Stone Bridge three.
Golston II—along with his brother freshman forward Kaden Golston (6 points, 7 rebounds)—had their hands full all night defending Djossinou, who hit a mid-range jumper to cut the Stone Bridge lead back to 1.
“We needed to know where he was at all times and box out so he didn’t get second chance opportunities,” Burnes said.
From there, the Bulldogs started to build their cushion and pull away. Following the Djossinou bucket, Reyes knocked down a three. On the very next possession, Reyes picked Lightridge’s pocket before making a sharp pass to Golston II, who kicked it out to Burnes for three.
Another Lightridge turnover led to another Burnes triple as Stone Bridge opened the gap to 50-40.
With mere seconds left in the third quarter, it looked like Stone Bridge would take a 9-point lead into the final eight minutes, but a Lightridge turnover with 0.4 seconds proved costly as Rubino found Burnes in the corner, who fired up a three to cap off the Bulldogs’ 18-6 run heading into the fourth quarter.
Wanting to maintain their cushion and keep Lightridge at bay in the fourth, Reyes led the Bulldogs in the fourth, scoring 10 of his game-high 25 points in the final eight minutes. Djossinou added 9 of his team-high 19 points over the same stretch, but his effort wasn’t enough as the Bulldogs stormed past the Lightning, 74-60.
Stone Bridge (1-0, 5-2) will look to improve to 2-0 in district play when they host Briar Woods on January 17 in Ashburn. Meanwhile, Lightridge (0-1, 4-8) will look to bounce back when they host Potomac District foe Independence on January 16.
“Even if we get knocked down a couple times, I’m hoping we can bounce back,” Kling said. “That’s the type of culture we have this year.”
Maya Lopez captured 75+ photos at the game!
Stone Bridge Stats
| Player Name | Points | Rebounds | Assists | Steals | Blocks | FT |
| Kevin Reyes | 25 | 6 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 4-for-5 |
| Carter Burnes | 20 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 0-for-0 |
| Sam Rubino | 16 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0-for-0 |
| Kaden Golston | 6 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0-for-0 |
| Kedric Golston | 5 | 13 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 1-for-4 |
| Blessing Aimuan | 2 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0-for-0 |
| Nathan Hughes | 0 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0-for-0 |
| Ruhan Mallya | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0-for-0 |
| Finn Billings | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0-for-0 |
| Charlie Stanek | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0-for-0 |
| Calin Burns | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0-for-0 |
| Evan Lewis | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0-for-0 |
| Totals | 74 | 46 | 14 | 7 | 2 | 5-for-9 |
Lightridge Stats
| Player Name | Points | Rebounds | Assists | Steals | Blocks | FT |
| Farrell Djossinou | 19 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 4-for-4 |
| Thanush Buneti | 12 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0-for-0 |
| Brooks Morgan | 11 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 1-for-1 |
| Jeric Uptgraft | 6 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0-for-0 |
| Max Kerr | 4 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0-for-0 |
| William White | 3 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 1-for-4 |
| Dylan Lewis | 2 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0-for-0 |
| Paden Edeen | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0-for-0 |
| Dylan Tucker | 1 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1-for-4 |
| Jayce Jenkins | 0 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0-for-0 |
| Nathaniel Gehlmann | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0-for-0 |
| Amari Trought | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0-for-0 |
| Joshua Yu | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0-for-0 |
| Yusuf Abbasi | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0-for-0 |
| Totals | 60 | 23 | 11 | 14 | 2 | 7-for-13 |