Seasons
Announcement
Saturday, Feb. 21, 2009
Friendly takes league title from Jackets
Patriots bounce back after first County 3A/2A/1A loss on Friday night
Both teams entered the game with 16-1 records in the league. Despite a hiccup Wednesday night, when Friendly had its shot at a perfect league record ended by a loss to Potomac, the Patriots responded on Friday against Gwynn Park.
Friendly celebrated senior night in Fort Washington by completing a season sweep of the Yellow Jackets with a 56-43 victory.
The game was perhaps decided at the foul line, where the Yellow Jackets converted on only 14 of 28 attempts and missed 11 free throws in the second half.
"It just came down to free throws," Gwynn Park senior forward Corey Anderson said. "Since I've been here at Gwynn Park, we have never made free throws consistently and it's the same thing."
The Patriots (19-2) shook off Wednesday's 79-76 overtime loss to Potomac with a team effort on a night when leading scorer A.J. Thomas was held to a season-low three points. Senior guard Michael Gonzales had 12 points, and forward Justin Strong had 10 points. The Yellow Jackets (16-5) were led by 11 points from Anderson.
Gwynn Park suffered a loss when guard Brandon Ford (eight points) landed hard after being fouled on a drive to the basket. He suffered a bump on his forehead and a busted lip on the play and was taken to the hospital as a precautionary measure for what Glick called a "slight concussion." Glick said he was confident Ford would be available for the playoffs, which get under way with first-round play-in game next Friday and continue the week of March 2.
With the win, Friendly earned the right to take on County 4A League champion Laurel in the county title game at 7:15 p.m. Wednesday at Henry A. Wise High. Laurel (17-5 overall) tied with Bowie for the top spot in the County 4A League. Both teams were 16-2 in league play, but the Spartans controlled the tie-breaker, having swept Bowie in two regular season games.