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Boys’ basketball Top 20: H.D. Woodson completes perfect season; state semifinals on deck in Maryland, Virginia

 March 7 at 1:20 PM

1. H.D. Woodson (33-0) Last week: 1

The Warriors became the first city public school to finish a season undefeated since 1985 when they beat Friendship Collegiate, 60-47, to win the DCSAA championship Sunday.

2. St. John’s (28-4) LW: 2

The Cadets were knocked out of the DCSAA quarterfinals by Friendship Collegiate in a 77-70 loss. The WCAC champs will resume play at this week’s Alhambra tournament.

3. National Christian (28-2) LW: 3

The Eagles lost to Legacy Charter (S.C.), 55-52, in the USA National Prep Basketball championship on a buzzer-beating three-pointer.

4. DeMatha (28-5) LW: 4

The defending Maryland Private Schools champion downed Good Counsel and Riverdale Baptist to set up a matchup with Capitol Christian in Monday’s tournament final.

5. Eleanor Roosevelt (22-3) LW: 5

The Raiders needed double overtime to get past Bladensburg, 59-54, in the Maryland 4A South final and advanced to face Perry Hall in Thursday’s state semifinals.

6. Potomac (Va.) (25-2) LW: 6

Four players hit double figures as the Panthers cruised past Norview, 72-57, in Saturday’s Virginia 5A state quarterfinals. They face Albemarle in Tuesday’s semifinals.

7. Westfield (24-3) LW: 8

The Bulldogs bounced back from their region final loss, blowing past then-No. 12 Hylton, 67-49, to advance to the Virginia 6A state semifinals for the second straight year.

8. Gwynn Park (24-2) LW: 10

The Yellow Jackets won their first Maryland 2A South region title since 2011 in a 79-69 victory over Westlake and will face New Town in the 2A state semifinals Friday.

9. Episcopal (25-4) LW: 11

The IAC champion capped its season with a second crown by defeating Paul VI, 67-63, in Saturday’s Virginia Independent Schools Athletic Association Division I final.

10. Wakefield (25-2) LW: 13

The Warriors fended off Deep Run, 50-48, to advance to their second Virginia 5A state semifinal in the last three years, where they will face L.C. Bird on Tuesday.

No. 10 Gwynn Park pulls away from Westlake, wins 2A South By Mark Giannotto March 4 at 11:24 PM ? The celebration was on in Brandywine, and Gwynn Park junior Justin Faison stood to the side watching his teammates line up to cut down the nets when the reason why this was all happening came to him. The Yellow Jackets are “the definition of a team,” Coach Mike Glick would say later, with a roster full of potential leading scorers who don’t actually care who scores the most in any given game. Such was the case again as No. 10 Gwynn Park pulled away from Westlake after halftime for a 79-69 win in the Maryland 2A South region boys’ basketball final Friday night. The Yellow Jackets simply had too many options, and it’s why they’re headed back to the Maryland 2A state semifinals for the first time since 2011. They will face New Town, which won the Maryland 2A North region title, next Friday at the University of Maryland’s Xfinity Center. “It’s just a blessing to have this many great players with me,” Faison said. The contributors in this latest triumph varied from quarter to quarter. First came a 10-point barrage by forward Isaiah Miles as Gwynn Park (24-2) built an early double-digit lead. Senior guard Marlon White followed with his own second-quarter flurry, scoring 11 of his 18 points in a matter of minutes to keep the Yellow Jackets ahead going into halftime. Behind a strong second half, the No. 10 Yellow Jackets defeated the Wolverines 79-69 to take the Maryland 2A South region title (Video by Matt Kelliebrew for Synthesis/Koubaroulis LLC./The Washington Post) Faison (27 points) then applied the finishing touches, attacking the basket at will once junior Everett Mouton got Westlake (20-5) to within one point by nailing consecutive three-pointers to start the second half. By the time Gwynn Park was done, it had broke open the game with a 12-1 run and eventually widened the lead to 74-55 in the fourth quarter. “They came out and tried to give it their best shot, and we had to let them know it wasn’t happening,” White said. “I love this team so much. We have so much diversity. It’s like every game it’s everybody’s game at the same time.” A strategic defensive change by Glick also helped. He turned to the same box-and-one defense that worked so well in crunch time when the Yellow Jackets beat No. 7 Douglass on Wednesday to slow down Mouton (15 points). More than anything, though, they were just a group of veterans who took their lumps in previous seasons and came out more resilient this winter as a result. And they did it all together. “I don’t think anybody had us winning this region at the beginning of the year, and you know what,” Glick said. “We believed in ourselves.” ? HUNTINGTOWN 52, MAGRUDER 46: The Hurricanes are headed to the state semifinals for the first time after coming from behind in the fourth quarter to beat the Colonels during a back-and-forth 3A South final in Calvert County. Point guard Brandon Easton (16 points) put Huntingtown up for good with less than two minutes remaining in regulation.
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Gwynn Park boys move on to state semis

Posted by Michael Glick at Mar 4, 2016 4:00PM PST ( 0 Comments )
Gwynn Park boys move on to state semis 05 Mar 2016 Written by Sean Farrell, Photo by Michael Smith GwynnPark JustinFaison2BRANDYWINE – The Gwynn Park boys’ basketball team just keeps buzzing along. The Yellow Jackets stung yet another opponent and made a statement by moving into the final four of the MPSSAA 2A state playoffs with their victory over Westlake 79-69. Justin Faison led the way for Gwynn Park by scoring 27 points and was a stinger in Westlake's side for the entire second half. He scored 18 of his 27 points in the final 16 minutes, including 10 free throws. But the win wasn't entirely easy. The game started off close with Gwynn Park holding a 15-14 lead after the first. Isaiah Miles scored eight points in the opening quarter before getting into foul trouble. That allowed Westlake to stay in the game, along with a Stephen Curry-like buzzer beater by Jeff Simmons. The second quarter was when both teams needed a player to step up. Fortunately for Gwynn Park that player was Marlon White. White erupted for 14 second quarter points and helped his team take a 39-31 lead into the break. “Basically I only needed one shot to hit for me to really gain my confidence. Once that first shot went in, my teammates kept giving me confidence and told me ‘keep shooting it, keep shooting it.’ And when I got it I shot the ball with confidence and they started dropping,” White said. The second half was when Faison took over. He made a living at the free throw line by blowing by defenders off the dribble and constantly drawing contact on his way to the rim. “Whenever a person on our team is going off, coach always says that means someone else is going to go off in the next quarter,” Faison said. “Marlon was going off in the first half and I guess the second half was mine, so we kept attacking. “After the Roosevelt game everyone said my shot wasn’t falling, so I got back in the gym and kept working and the practice paid off tonight. I used to have troubles shooting free throws, but my three ball was good. So tonight I buckled down and made sure both of them are knocked down.” The score was 62-52 in favor of Gwynn Park heading into the final quarter and the Yellow Jackets were determined to put the game away. CJ Miller was once again the hero defensively and, like many games this season, took away the opponent's top scorer while adding six points of his own. “I think CJ Miller did a phenomenal job on [Everett] Mouton and that just has to be mentioned. His defense was impeccable,” Gwynn Park Head Coach Mike Glick said. “Our league prepared us for this. The trials and tribulations and battles we have in our league prepared us for this moment. No tougher league. Nobody’s had a tougher road to get here than us.” Gwynn Park is now only two wins away from a state championship and will play Friday at the Xfinity Center in College Park. “All weekend we’re going to celebrate, but starting Monday we’re back in there to get our state championship that we all want,” Faison said. Last modified onSaturday, 05 March 2016 05:23
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Gwynn Park Rallies Past Douglass DMV Elite

Posted by Michael Glick at Mar 2, 2016 4:00PM PST ( 0 Comments )
Gwynn Park Rallies Past Douglass Gwynn Park Eliminates Douglass In 2A Playoffs - DMVelite.com Video of Gwynn Park Eliminates Douglass In 2A Playoffs - DMVelite.com Highlights from Gwynn Park's 68-65 comeback win over Douglass in the Maryland 2A South semifinals on March 2, 2016. Includes interviews with Gwynn Park's Marlon White, Isaiah Miles and Justin Faison.

Three-point play by Isaiah Miles lifts Gwynn Park past Douglass

Gwynn Park’s Isaiah Miles watched all five Douglass players crash the paint for a rebound in the closing moments of Wednesday’s 2A South region semifinals, and his first instinct was to run the other direction. In the mad scramble for a loose ball, guard Marlon White somehow ended up with it and saw his teammate streaking toward the other basket.

White’s pass found Miles, and a capacity crowd in Brandywine erupted when he completed a three-point play that ultimately propelled No. 10 Gwynn Park to a dramatic 68-65 win over No. 7 Douglass.

The Yellow Jackets trailed by 18 points before halftime and held the lead for all of 37 seconds during what became their biggest comeback of the season. Gwynn Park (23-2) will host Westlake in the 2A South region final Friday.

“It’s a lot to take in,” Miles (20 points) said, still reveling in the postgame celebration. “I just had to buckle down, make the free throw so we could secure the win. We were never out of the game, so I felt like we all just buckled down and took control.”

Douglass (20-2) came out hot and torched Gwynn Park’s normally stingy defense. At times, senior Cameron Hayes (26 points) tried to will the Eagles past their rival, finishing around the rim from the baseline. A short jumper by Hayes gave Douglass its biggest lead at 40-22 late in the first half.

But Gwynn Park slowly began to chip away, and junior Justin Faison delivered with his team in jeopardy. He scored 16 of his 23 points in the final 12 minutes, hitting several contested jumpers to steady the Yellow Jackets before their final push.

Faison credited a “McNamara Reject” sign in the Douglass student section — he transferred to Gwynn Park after playing with McNamara’s junior varsity team last year — for providing extra motivation.

“I took that to heart, and I didn’t want to lose,” Faison said. “They thought I was rejected, but at the end of the day we’re just trying to keep pounding and get a state championship. That’s all that matters.”

To keep those title hopes alive, the Yellow Jackets withstood a manic final minute. Senior Aaron Parker gave Gwynn Park its first lead of the game on a hanging lay-in, but Douglass junior Donald Carey came right back with a fast-break basket to put the Eagles back on top.