Purcellville, Va. — One of the most surprising starts this season in Loudoun County basketball is the Loudoun Valley High School boys basketball team. After graduating a core group of seniors, the Vikings have opened 2025 on a tear, including Dulles District over Heritage, Tuscarora, and Rock Ridge. Loudoun Valley continued their hot start to district play with a commanding 65-50 win over the Dominion Titans on January 27 in Purcellville.
“We’re a young team, and I think we’re finding our groove,” Loudoun Valley head coach Chad Dawson said. “We’ve had this [style]where we get up big and then we’ve let people get back in the game. I think overall it was good. We have a few kids banged up, but we fought through it tonight.”
Loudoun Valley junior forward Tal Rose (20 points, 6 rebounds, 3 assists) scored a game-high 20 points to help lead his team to the victory. The Vikings also received key contributions from sophomore guard Aidan O’Connor (16 points, 3 rebounds, 3 assists) and junior guard Tristen Conrad (13 points, 3 rebounds, 4 assists) as well as senior forward John Hasle (8 points, 4 rebounds).
“We had a tough loss on Saturday, so it was good to bounce back tonight,” Rose said. “Some games we get a little bit selfish on offense and try to go one on one, but we’re at our best when getting ball movement.”
Loudoun Valley pushed the ball quickly to start the game as senior forward Will Saba (2 points, 3 rebounds) opened the scoring with a layup. Additionally, the defense forced turnovers, which helped the Vikings jump out to an early 13-0 lead after O’Connor knocked down a wing three-pointer to cap off the run.
“We want to play fast,” Dawson said. “We feel like that’s a strength of ours. We did push the ball and share the ball, and got some good opportunities. Unfortunately, we missed our fair share of easy buckets tonight. It’s always an adjustment when you play late and the guys haven’t been in school.”
Dominion finally got on the scoreboard five minutes into the first quarter when senior forward Giorgio Elia (10 points, 4 rebounds) made a layup while drawing a foul. However, Loudoun Valley responded with Conrad making a contested three on the next possession.
The Vikings held onto their lead, going into the first quarter break with a dominant 17-5 advantage. Loudoun Valley forced 9 turnovers and only allowed 20% shooting on field goal attempts in the first frame.
“We were trying to give them a different look [on defense],” Dawson said. “Trying to create different angles for the passing lanes, getting some more deflections, and creating turnovers.”
Dominion senior guard Jakob Salgado (7 points, 2 rebounds) tried to cut the deficit for the Titans. A three trimmed the Loudoun Valley lead to 17-8, then later in the second quarter, he made a layup to decrease the deficit to 20-12. However, Loudoun Valley junior guard Mack Gaffney (4 points, 4 rebounds) and Conrad both contributed to a 8-0 scoring run for the Vikings.
“Every single time we get to push the ball, that’s how we get out to those runs,” Rose said. “That’s how we generate easy baskets, and going up early is a big part of what we do.”
After back-and-forth possessions from both teams, Dominion went on an 11-0 scoring run to close out the second quarter. A huge three from junior guard Jaden Beyer (15 points, 4 rebounds) and a buzzer-beater layup by junior guard Yasser Nour (10 points, 2 rebounds) capped off a run that gave the away fans some life. The Titans only committed 3 turnovers and shot 57% from the field in the second frame.
Points from Conrad and Hasle opened up the third quarter, but Beyer made another three-pointer to trim the Dominion deficit to 37-30.
Hasle and Rose pushed the lead out to 41-30, then after a couple of possessions, Rose made a three from the wing. O’Connor followed with a three-pointer of his own to increase the Loudoun Valley lead to 47-34. After a contested layup by Dominion junior guard Quinn Daignault (6 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists), Rose knocked in another three-pointer that finished the third quarter scoring with the Vikings up 50-36.
Beyer made two three-pointers in the first two minutes of the fourth quarter, but Dominion was still behind 54-42. Nour knocked down another three for the Titans, but Dominion couldn’t consistently get their shots to fall in the fourth frame. The Titans went 3-for-9 from behind the arc and 42% from the field in the fourth quarter. Loudoun Valley slowed their offense down and cruised to a 65-50 win.
Loudoun Valley (4-0, 9-7) stays atop the Dulles District standings, and returns back home on January 28 where they’ll host non-district foe Lightridge. Dominion (0-4, 5-12) returns home against Herndon’s King Abdullah Academy on January 28, before trying to win their first Dulles District game of the season when they travel to Heritage on January 31.
“We want to continue to push towards the top of the district,” Dawson said. “If you win the district, you’re guaranteed that regional berth, which can take a lot of pressure off. We’ve got several district titles, but we’d like to add another one this year.”