By Phil Murphy
DigitalSports.com
**Re-live the first semifinal in 6 min, 42 sec in the video player below the story. Interviews added!**
McLean 56, No. 3 W.T. Woodson 40
McLean senior Tarek Ammoury made his eighth free throw of the game and strolled to the bench, pounding his chest and pointing to the Highlander student section.
With just over a minute left in regulation against top-seeded W.T. Woodson, the Liberty District Player of the Year received a deserved standing ovation from the crimson-clad supporters and his teammates.
Ammoury scored a game-high 27 points — adding 10 rebounds and four assists — as McLean defeated No. 3 Woodson, 56-40, to advance to the Liberty District tournament championship.
“It was the best game he played all year,” said first-year Highlander Coach Kevin Roller. “He’s scored more points in other games, had more rebounds. His decision-making … his trust in his teammates, his discipline to let the team thing happen … just like any first-team all-district player, he can go and create a shot any time he has the ball.
“All night, he maybe made one mistake on when to go and that leads to phenomenal possessions.”
The Cavaliers pulled within two points in the fourth quarter, but were outscored by the Highlanders, 19-5, over the final seven minutes of play. Ammoury fared a perfect 6-for-6 from the line during that span and added three assists.
“I step up in big games,” he said. “I just want to get that district championship. I haven’t made it to regionals in four years, and this is it. We beat South Lakes in the first round and now we’ve beaten Woodson. This is huge for me and my teammates, too. I’m proud of all of them.”
The Cavaliers, who had won 11 consecutive games, will face the National District runner-up next week in the first round of the Northern Region tournament.
“At this point in time, there are only good teams playing,” said Roller, whose Highlanders had not won a district tournament game since 1999 coming into this season. “What’s really separated how well we’ve played in the last couple weeks has been the discipline we’ve shown, the trust in each other and the confidence in each other.
“If we weren’t completely solid in those aspects, we were going to fall short.”
McLean will face its cross-town rival, No. 5 Langley, in the district title game, schedule for 8 p.m. Friday. The Highlanders and Saxons split their season series, with each winning on the road.
Email: pmurphy@digitalsports.com
McLean 12 15 8 21 — 56
No. 3 W.T. Woodson 15 7 10 8 — 40
McLean — Ammoury 9 8-9 27; Fitzgerald 4 0-0 8; Russomanno 2 3-4 7; Kanellias 3 0-1 6; Brosnan 2 0-0 4; Dahl 2 0-0 4; Team Totals: 22 11-14 56. W.T. Woodson — Stepka 6 0-1 14; Lenox 4 2-3 12; Bacon 1 0-0 3; Robeson 1 0-0 3; Huling 1 0-0 2; Noe 1 0-0 2; Schoof 1 0-0 2; Whitaker 0 2-2 2; Team Totals: 15 4-6 40. Three-pointers — McLean 1 (Ammoury); W.T. Woodson 6 (Stepka 2, Lenox 2, Bacon, Robeson).
**Re-live Thursday’s game in 9 min. Interviews still to come!**
No. 5 Langley 58, No. 7 Madison 39
Prior to Thursday’s Liberty District semifinal held at South Lakes, No. 7 Madison and No. 5 Langley had split two rousing games in their season series with neither contest decided by more than three points. The precursor to the Liberty District tournament championship, however, was categorically more one-sided.
The Saxons , leading by 11 points early in the third quarter, took immediate advantage when standout Warhawk guard Collin Flaherty was benched with foul trouble and extended that margin to 20 points en route to a 58-39 win to advance to Friday’s championship game against McLean.
“That’s the game we want to play,” said Langley senior Ryan Davenport, tying with junior Derek Baker with a team-high 14 points. “That might have been our best team game of the year, as far as a lot of guys playing well.”
Flaherty, a first-team All-District selection, left the court after being charged with his fourth personal with 5 minutes, 28 seconds remaining in the third period and Langley leading, 33-22.
The Saxons scored the next nine points, six courtesy of junior Thomas Kody (12 points) and, by the time Flaherty re-entered at the 1:36 mark, the score was 44-24 and the result assured.
“Getting Flaherty in foul trouble really helped us,” Langley Coach Travis Hess said. “He’s their best player … He’s a big guy in the middle that rebounds and blocks shots. He really makes them go. Offensively and defensively, we got some of the looks we wanted and it really hurt Madison with him being out of the game.”
In addition to the Warhawks most versatile threat being sidelined, the Saxons leaned on reputable offensive balance. Kody was one of four players to reach double-figures scoring, with a different Saxon player leading the team offensively in each quarter.
“We got a lot of stuff inside from [Ahmed] Malik, which really helped us from the outside,” said Davenport, Langley’s career all-time leading scorer. “Drew Smerdinski played really good defense on me again. It was hard to get open.
“For me, if I get some space, I’ll try and get a shot off. I did that and made some shots in the first half. In the second half, guys got going. Derek Baker had a great game; he’s helped us out so much … along with Thomas Kody, he’s one of the hardest workers on our team.”
With W.T. Woodson, the tournament’s top-seed, falling in Thursday’s early game, the Warhawks will be the fourth-seed from the Liberty in next week’s Northern Region Tournament. Madison, which by virtue of winning the regular-season can not fall lower than the No. 2 seed, will face the National District champion in the regional opener on Monday.
“We give up 46 [points] a game. With six minutes to go in the game, we’ve already given up 52,” said Madison Coach Chris Kuhblank, who led the Warhawks to the 2005-06 Liberty District title. “We didn’t get any rebounds, we didn’t play smart and we didn’t play as hard as them. In every aspect of the game, we did poorly.”
Langley, meanwhile, advances to meet McLean in the district championship game. The Saxons and Highlanders, bitter rivals, split the season series. Friday’s rubber match is scheduled for 8 p.m. at South Lakes.
“Our fans are going to be excited to play a rival,” Davenport said. “But we have to remember that we’re playing for a district championship.”
Email: pmurphy@digitalsports.com
No. 7 Madison 7 12 11 9 — 39
No. 5 Langley 15 15 17 11 — 58
Madison — Ogolo 5 0-1 11; Flaherty 4 0-0 8; LeDuc 3 1-2 7; Smerdinski 3 0-0 6; Crissey 1 2-4 4; Clarkson 1 0-0 2; Moyer 0 1-2 1; Team Totals: 17 4-9 39. Langley — Davenport 7 0-1 14; Baker 4 4-4 14; Kody 5 1-3 12; Hunter 3 3-4 10; Malik 1 3-4 5; Pritchett 1 0-0 2; Popps 0 1-2 1; Team Totals: 21 12-18 58. Three-pointers — Madison 1 (Ogolo); Langley 4 (Baker 2, Kody, Hunter).
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