Leesburg, Va. — Heading into the half with just a 1-point lead, the Loudoun County High School boys basketball team knew if they wanted to earn their fourth straight win, they’d need to get back to the fundamentals.
“I think our guys got a little over excited and tried to play a little bit over aggressive,” first-year Loudoun County head coach Alex Feliu said. “We just wanted to stay within our fundamentals. Once we did that, we were able to turn the tide.”
Hosting an up-and-coming Park View squad, the Captains made an adjustment on defense coming out of the half and used their transition offense to open the third quarter on a 16-0 run, before weathering a short Park View run in the fourth to outlast the Patriots, 68-56, on January 31 in Leesburg.
“We started in man, but going into halftime, I communicated with coach that I thought we should go to zone,” Loudoun County senior guard Matthew Forlenza said. “He had trust in us, we communicated well, we rotated well, and we got out in transition once we got the rebound.”
Coming out of the half, Loudoun County senior forward Tyler Stinnette (5 points, 6 rebounds) got the scoring run started after he grabbed a defensive rebound before eventually finishing on the other end.
Loudoun County junior forward Reed Bianchini (10 points, 3 rebounds) then used a Stinnette rebound to draw a foul, connecting on both of his free throws. On the next possession, Bianchini stole a pass then went coast-to-coast to score a tough and-one, finishing at the free throw line to extend the Loudoun County lead to 39-33. Bianchini then capped off his own personal 7-0 run with another defensive rebound and quick score in transition as the Captains ballooned their lead to double digits for the first time all night.
Loudoun County continued to extend its lead when Forlenza (17 points, 3 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals) found freshman forward Kian Andreassen (8 points, 3 rebounds) for a quick two before dishing a dime to junior guard Kobe Assiamah-Damti (6 points, 2 assists) for another bucket.
On their next offensive trip, the Captains rounded off their 16-0 run when Assiamah-Damti attacked the basket then kicked a pass out to wide open senior guard Quin Miller (5 points, 2 steals) for a triple, extending the Loudoun County lead to 50-33.
“We’re most successful when we attack the basket, let the defense collapse, and then kick out to the open shooter,” Forlenza said.
Park View junior guard Noah Calalang (21 points, 3 rebounds, 2 assists) finally ended the Patriots’ second-half scoring drought when he finished on an and-one to liven up the away crowd.
The Captains, however, had an answer as Forlenza scored on back-to-back fast breaks to keep the momentum with the navy and gold.
Heading into the fourth down 57-40, the Patriots were looking to go on a run of their own when Calalang knocked down a three off a pass from junior guard Cash Alonso (12 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists).
On the next Patriots’ trip, junior guard Jadon Lane (9 points, 5 rebounds, 2 assists) found fellow junior guard Ayden Yester (11 points, 3 rebounds, 2 steals) for two. On the very next play, Yester intercepted a pass and repaid the favor, finding Lane underneath, where he drew a foul. Lane connected on both of his free throw attempts, cutting the Loudoun County lead to 57-47, and forcing Feliu to re-enter his starters to squash the Park View momentum.
The personnel change worked immediately as Stinnette drew a foul and split his free throws before Forlenza scored in transition then buried a three off a pass from sophomore guard Jared Campbell (10 points, 5 rebounds).
“Buddy [Forlenza] is one of the toughest competitors I’ve ever coached,” Feliu said. “I know if I put him in in an adverse situation, he’s going to take over. When things weren’t going our way, we put him back on the court and that took care of everything.”
Following a Calalang basket, Forlenza found Campbell for a three of his own as the Captains had quickly re-extended their lead to 66-49.
Lane and Alonso found a few more opportunities for the Patriots down the stretch, but the Captains’ third quarter was too much to overcome as Loudoun County held on 68-56.
Loudoun County (3-2, 10-8) will look to improve upon their 4-game win streak when they travel to district foe Woodgrove on February 4. Meanwhile, Park View (0-5, 4-14) will have their hands full when they host Catoctin District No. 1 Broad Run on February 3.
“We’re rebounding the ball better, we’re playing better defense, we’re playing more team basketball,” Feliu said. “Throughout the season we’ve found that when we share the basketball, when we attack the basket, and when we communicate, we can hang with anybody.”
Kevin Serrano captured 200+ photos at the game!
Loudoun County Stats
| Player Name | Points | Rebounds | Assists | Steals | Blocks | FT |
| Matthew Forlenza | 17 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0-for-0 |
| Jared Campbell | 10 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0-for-0 |
| Reed Bianchini | 10 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 4-for-5 |
| Kian Andreassen | 8 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0-for-0 |
| Kobe Assiamah-Damti | 6 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 2-for-3 |
| Tyler Stinnette | 5 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1-for-4 |
| Quin Miller | 5 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0-for-0 |
| Ryan Oates | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3-for-4 |
| Christian Dema-Narh | 2 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0-for-0 |
| Jake Miller | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0-for-0 |
| Aidan Kessler | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0-for-0 |
| Totals | 68 | 28 | 7 | 7 | 3 | 10-for-16 |
Park View Stats
| Player Name | Points | Rebounds | Assists | Steals | Blocks | FT |
| Noah Calalang | 21 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 3-for-3 |
| Cash Alonso | 12 | 5 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 2-for-2 |
| Ayden Yester | 11 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2-for-3 |
| Jadon Lane | 9 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 5-for-6 |
| Anthony Astacio | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0-for-2 |
| Kingston Pham | 1 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1-for-4 |
| Brian Nguyen | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0-for-0 |
| Totals | 56 | 24 | 8 | 4 | 0 | 13-for-20 |