O'Connell Loses to DeMatha in Championship Game

By David Steinbacher
Special to the HERALD
(From the issue of 2/28/02)

The DeMatha Stags defeated all three Arlington diocesan schools on their way to the 2002 Washington Catholic Athletic Conference (WCAC) boys' basketball championship.

DeMatha defeated Ireton 77-41 in the first round, Paul VI 54-47 in the semi-finals and O'Connell 60-50 in the championship game. The latter two games were played at the Showcase Arena in Upper Marlboro, Md. It was O'Connell's first trip to the championship final.

In the semi-final matchup between DeMatha and Paul VI, the Panthers led 24-22 at halftime and led during stretches of the third quarter. But the Stags surged ahead during the fourth quarter to prevail.

"We made some mental mistakes late in the game which hurt our chances," said PVI's first-year head coach Levi Franklin.

Pacing PVI offensively was Kenny Green with nine points, Steve Proctor with eight, and Darryl Proctor and Antonio Webb with seven each.

In the second semi-final game, O'Connell defeated McNamara 68-51. The Knights led at halftime 38-28 and maintained their lead throughout the second half. Pacing O'Connell offensively was Pierre Lacey with 14 points, Ahmad Smith with 13, Brian Johnson with 12, and Erik Smith and Freddie Stanback with nine apiece.

O'Connell surged to a 14-12 first quarter advantage against DeMatha in the championship game. The teams were deadlocked at 29 at halftime. DeMatha game out strong at the beginning of the third quarter, taking leads of 37-29 and 39-30 before closing out the quarter with a 46-39 advantage.

The Stags increased their lead to 50-39 in the fourth quarter before O'Connell made a late surge. Senior Ahmad Smith and sophomore Freddie Stanback hit three consecutive three points shots between them to close the gap to 50-48 with three minutes remaining.

One minute later, the Knights reduced the lead to 52-50 following sophomore Brian Johnson's jumper. But the Knights ran out of gas in the final two minutes. They missed their final six shots from the floor.

At the same time, DeMatha's Travis Garrison, Warren Williams and Germaine Green each knocked down two free throws making the score 58-50 with 34 seconds remaining. DeMatha's Elijah Brooks scored the final two points of the game and the Stags prevailed 60-50.

Pacing O'Connell offensively was Ahmad Smith with 14 and Johnson with 11. Erik Smith and Stanback had 10 points apiece.

"We've come a long way this year as a team," said Lacey. "The ball just didn't bounce the right way for us today, especially in the second half."

"We didn't get back on their transitional breaks," said Erik Smith. "We're going to keep our heads up and keep believing in ourselves."

"DeMatha did a good job getting out on the fast break tonight, especially in the second half," said O'Connell head coach Joe Wooten. "Our shots just didn't fall at the end of the game."

"Joe has done a real good job," said DeMatha's Morgan Wooten, Joe's father. "Five of their seven players that played tonight return for the next couple of seasons. O'Connell will be tough in the upcoming seasons."

Both PVI and O'Connell will compete in the Virginia Independent School championship tournament this weekend.

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