Ashburn, Va. — With less than four minutes to play in their Potomac District match up with Tuscarora High School on December 11, the Stone Bridge High School boys basketball team trailed 77-72. The offensive slugfest had changed hands multiple times throughout the game, but it was the Bulldogs’ late defense that helped them go on a 17-6 run to escape the Huskies, 89-83.
“We’re not really a good pressing team, but we decided to turn it up a little bit to get steals,” Stone Bridge head coach Corey Stitzel said. “We’re really efficient offensively, and we got guys who can shoot the ball. I think we got four in a row off the steals and went from down seven to up five before anybody could blink.”
Down 5 with four minutes to play, the Bulldogs turned on the press and quickly converted steals to points. Stone Bridge senior guard Evan Buckley got the rally started when he hit a three from the top of the key to draw within two. Then junior forward Michael Healy buried two threes from the corner as the Bulldogs took the lead for the first time since the opening minute of the fourth quarter.
“I haven’t seen a team this good offensively. Offensively, we’re great,” Buckley said. “But we need to pick it up defensively.”
Offensively, the Bulldogs saw all five starters score in double figures. Buckley led the way with 33 points and 6 assists; Healy added 14 points, 5 rebounds; junior guard Michael Jerome contributed 13 points, 6 rebounds; senior forward Zion Ware scored 10 points; and junior forward Isaiah Rhodes turned in a double-double with 17 points and 13 rebounds.
But the Huskies saw near equal offensive production from their line up. Tuscarora junior forward Jadon White paced the Huskies with 23, senior guard Chandler Tuten added 19 and freshman guard Andre Patterson hit four threes off the bench.
“We can play with anybody, anywhere offensively,” Stitzel said. “Defensively, right now, we can’t play in the CLBL or AYBL youth leagues; we’d have some kid who never picked up a ball get 20 against us.”
Boys Basketball: All five Stone Bridge starters score in double digits. Guard Evan Buckley with a game-high 33. @SBHS_Basketball 89, @Husky_Hoopz 83 FINAL #LoCoHoops @LoCoSports
— Owen Gotimer (@BigO_Gotimer) December 12, 2018
Meanwhile, the Bulldogs defense had its hands full with Tuscarora senior forward Brayden Van Leliveld, who matched Rhodes’ double-double with one of his own, scoring 16 points and grabbing 13 boards.
“They had the size advantage. [Van Leliveld] was hard to defend at 6-foot-7, but especially because he can shoot. He’s a really good player,” Buckley said. “Our goal is to win the district and win the region, so we’re going to have to play him and [Potomac Falls forward] Ian Anderson; they’re both 6-foot-6, 6-foot-7. We’re going to have to be able to guard them.”
While the Bulldogs struggled to guard Van Leliveld throughout the night, they got a break during their run as Tuscarora moved to a quicker line up, sitting Van Leliveld late.
“We’re just trying to survive on the defensive end. We try to play zone, we try to play man, we try to press; we haven’t really figured it out,” Stitzel said. “That’s on me to try to figure out. We’ll try to figure out what our identity is which is probably a combination of a bunch of things.”
For Tuscarora, the loss stings after a 24-point win over 2018 Potomac District champion Freedom on December 7 in South Riding. For Stone Bridge, the win is a big bounce back after a tough, triple-overtime loss to Rock Ridge on December 7 in Ashburn.
“These kids are great kids. They’re resilient. They’re selfless. They care about each other. They’re fighters. I expected nothing less than a bounce back,” Stitzel said. “They are tremendous kids. I have a three-year-old son, and I hope he turns out like all these kids.”
Mike Ferrara captured more than 60 photos at the game…
Stone Bridge Stats
| Stone Bridge | Points | Rebounds | Assists | Steals | Blocks | Free Throws |
| Evan Buckley | 33 | 4 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 11-for-15 |
| Isaiah Rhodes | 17 | 13 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 6-for-7 |
| Michael Healy | 14 | 5 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0-for-0 |
| Michael Jerome | 13 | 6 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 2-for-2 |
| Zion Ware | 10 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 4-for-6 |
| Cole DeVido | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0-for-0 |
| Tai Felton | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0-for-0 |
| Damani Martin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0-for-0 |
| Bulldogs Totals | 89 | 35 | 14 | 8 | 0 | 23-for-30 |
Tuscarora Stats
| Tuscarora | Points | Rebounds | Assists | Steals | Blocks | Free Throws |
| Jadon White | 23 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0-for-0 |
| Chandler Tuten | 19 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 5-for-6 |
| Brayden Van Leliveld | 16 | 13 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0-for-0 |
| Andre Patterson | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0-for-0 |
| Jack Clark | 6 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0-for-2 |
| Artyst Marshall | 3 | 4 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 1-for-3 |
| Tayvon Smith | 2 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0-for-0 |
| Max Jones | 2 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0-for-0 |
| Chris Cates | 0 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0-for-0 |
| Michael Brennan | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0-for-0 |
| Huskies Totals | 83 | 30 | 16 | 6 | 0 | 6-for-11 |