Leesburg, Va. — The Tuscarora and Heritage High School boys basketball teams have become familiar with each other leading into their February 15 showdown. The Pride won the first matchup on January 13, 60-54, while the Huskies won the second on February 6, 67-48. Both squads were neck and neck this season in the Dulles District standings, leading to a winner-take-all game for the Dulles District regular season title, the No. 1 seed in the district tournament, and an automatic berth to the VHSL Region 4C tournament. In front of a split gym at neutral Loudoun County High School, Tuscarora pulled out a last-quarter win, 50-45.
“It was a great game against two really good teams,” Tuscarora head coach Michael Newkirk said. “Heritage played hard and we expected it. It’s our third game in three days, but no excuses. We didn’t go as much on our bench, so we had some guys with heavy legs, but the opportunity to get the No. 1 seed in the district tournament was on the line.”
Tuscarora senior forward Joshua Feagin (19 points, 8 rebounds) led the way for the Huskies with a game-high 19 points after knocking down 3 three-pointers. Junior forward Hayden Collins (14 points, 2 rebounds, 2 steals) chipped in 14 points to round out the double-digit scorers for Tuscarora.
“There’s a lot of unseen hours that I put in,” Feagin said. “There’s also a lot of unseen hours that my teammates have put in. It’s going to come to light either way. The hard work that we put in during the summer, in the fall, during the season is starting to show now.”
Heritage sophomore forward Jordan Garland (8 points, 4 rebounds) opened the scoring with a putback on a fast break, then Heritage extended its early advantage to 4-1 after sophomore forward Tyler Burns made a layup.
A couple of minutes later, Tuscarora was able to tie the game at 7-7 with a layup by sophomore guard Jordan Dillard. Then, Feagin knocked down his first three of the game to put the Huskies up 10-7.
Heritage sophomore forward Liam Roane (10 points, 7 rebounds) responded with a layup. But, Tuscarora senior guard Travis Duggan closed out the first quarter with a buzzer-beater three to give the Huskies a 13-9 lead.
“We have been getting our identity recently,” Newkirk said. “Everything isn’t always going to be good, but having that drive to make it good, and to write your own path. I told those guys after the Heritage and Loudoun Valley losses, we were the only team built for this path. Knowing that we can weather and absorb different types of adversity is a great peace of mind.”
Heritage sophomore guard Dylan Williams (5 points, 4 assists) opened up the second quarter with a far-three to cut the Pride’s deficit to 13-12. A fast-break layup by Tuscarora junior guard Chas Battaglia extended the Huskies’ lead to 17-12 a couple of minutes later.
Roane cut into the lead with a layup, however, a two-pointer by Collins and free throws by Tuscarora junior guard Colin Byrd (9 points, 4 rebounds, 5 assists) pushed the lead up to 21-16. Heritage responded quickly as Garland made an easy layup off of an inbounds pass before Heritage junior forward Becks Hetzel (3 points, 1 assist) knocked down a three to tie the game at 21-21.
Feagin responded with a jumper, and both teams made baskets in their next possessions. Garland closed out the first half with a three-pointer to give Heritage a 26-25 lead. The Pride shot 46% from the field in the first half, however, 8 turnovers hurt them offensively.
Collins opened the third quarter scoring with an open layup to put Tuscarora back into the lead, 27-26. After a couple of possessions from both teams, a reverse layup by Heritage sophomore guard Masyn Miller (6 points, 5 rebounds) gave the Pride a 30-28 lead.
Collins and Feagin both rained down threes to put Tuscarora up 34-32 with two minutes remaining in the third quarter. With time winding down, Burns made a three-pointer after a Roane turnaround jumper to give Heritage a 37-34 advantage. Byrd closed out the third frame with two free throws, but the Huskies were still down 37-36 heading into the fourth quarter.
“We have a complete team,” Newkirk said. “My top two scorers were held well under their averages. You have Josh [Feagin] and Hayden [Collins], Travis Duggan comes in and plays tremendous, the usual fight out of Isaac [Ure]. We had contributions from guys that normally are not in the stat sheet, but that’s a balanced team.”
After a slow shooting start from both teams to start the fourth quarter, Collins made a contested layup. Feagin followed that up with a three-pointer off of a Heritage turnover to put Tuscarora up 41-37.
Roane tied the game at 43-43 with three minutes remaining after making a layup while drawing a shooting foul. However, Tuscarora scored five unanswered points—led by a Collins three-point play and a dunk by Byrd on the fast break—in thirty seconds to take a 48-43 lead.
“We all banded together this whole year,” Feagin said. “We’ve been emphasizing finishing games, finishing games, finishing games, and for us to step up, come together, and band together. We rely on each other and we executed.”
Heritage sophomore forward Alex Cox (4 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists) made an open layup after intercepting the ball to cut the deficit to 48-45 with just over 30 seconds remaining in the game.
Heritage did have a chance to win the game after a turnover by Tuscarora, however, Williams’ three-point attempt found the rim. Byrd was able to collect the rebound and make both free throws on the other end for a 50-45 Tuscarora win.
“Everything starts and begins with us on the defensive end,” Newkirk said. “We hang our hats on getting defensive stops, and we were comfortable there. There were a couple of plays where [the game]shouldn’t have been as close, but we did secure the basketball at the end. It’s a very veteran group, motivated group, and determined group.”
After securing the No. 1 seed, Tuscarora (6-2, 19-5) moves onto the Dulles District tournament on February 19 against the winner of No. 4 Rock Ridge and No. 5 Dominion. No. 2 Heritage (6-2, 17-6) will return home for the Dulles District tournament on the same night against No. 3 Loudoun Valley.
“We set our goals at the beginning of the season and we talked about championships,” Newkirk said. “That’s our first one. The regular season championship is a body of work that shows who was the best team throughout the season. Next week, we have an opportunity to show who’s the best team right now with the tournament.”
Derrick Jerry & Kiko Dudley captured 250+ photos at the game!