Huguenot finds a way to finish, defeats Monacan in boys basketball

This time, there would be no collapse.

There would be no disappointment, no hangdog looks, no what-ifs, and certainly no long, quiet bus ride home.

This time, there would be only joy, gratitude, and pride in a job well done.

Just four days ago, you see, the Huguenot Falcons played a tough Manchester team evenly for four quarters, then had their hopes dashed as the Lancers scored a 67-56 overtime victory.

Playing at Monacan Friday night, though, Coach Ksaan Brown’s guys built a seemingly comfortable double-digit, third-quarter lead, refused to back down as the gritty, resilient Chiefs made their predictable run that cut their deficit to a single point with a minute remaining, then responded with poise and intentionality to triumph 77-72 in a high-energy, down-to-the-wire thriller. 

“We had Manchester (beaten) at home, and we ran out of steam,” Brown said. “That would have been a statement. We let that get away. We really wanted this one.”

Fast off the tip, Huguenot (6-3) opened with an 8-0 run on the strength of three buckets from close range, two by Jhamari Cain and another by Cody Thompson.

After using a timeout to regroup, the Chiefs (6-3) answered with three quick 3-pointers, two by Kobe Benjamin (11 points) and the other by Jackson Bunn (20 points).

Unfazed, the Falcons took a 16-11 lead into the second quarter, then found themselves scrambling as the home team engineered a 16-3 run enroute to a 27-19 lead when Amare Cooper (17 points) hit a transition layup off a turnover 4:35 before the break.

Playing with a blend of focus and passion, Huguenot answered with an 18-6 run of its own to take a 37-33 lead into the locker room.

“Every team makes a run,” said Juelle “Duddey” Edwards-Carter, the Falcons’ 5-11 senior guard. “We went on our run at the beginning of the game. Then, they came out and made one, but we stayed level-headed and kept the pace up.

“We left a lot of shots open. We were trying to close the middle leaving the outside open. We weren’t respecting their shots, but when they fell, we changed (defenses) and got ahold of them.”

The Falcons opened in a 2-3 zone, played a triangle-and-2 on Cooper and Tai Bowler (11 points) when they got hot, and switched to a diamond-and-1 when only Cooper was in the game.

Bunn’s 3-pointer and Cooper’s layup put the Chiefs up 38-37 at 6:40 of the third quarter, but the visitors responded with a 24-9 run fueled by their harrying defense which created golden offensive opportunities and took a 61-47 lead into the fourth.

“What really happened was that they were missing some of their shots, so when we got rebounds, they were run-outs,” Brown said. “Those run-outs led to easy baskets. That’s our game. We want to run.”

Then began the inevitable Monacan response in the form of an 11-2 run fueled by 3-pointers by Bunn and Brayden Townes that closed the gap to 63-58 at 5:25.

“If you really think about it, all we had to do was stay locked in, play defense, not get too high, and just stay medium,” said Ra’Sean Miller, a 6-4 junior forward who contributed 13 points. 

“We just had to execute and play as a team. We stopped their shooters, we boxed out, we got rebounds. We know we can beat better teams. We just have to get the opportunity.”

As the partisan, high-decibel home crowd shouted encouragement, Townes drained an NBA-range 3-pointer 1:31 from the end to trim Monacan’s deficit to 73-70.

With the action swirling at fever pitch and tension palpable, Bowler hit a layup off Benjamin’s assist at 0:59 to close the gap to 73-72.

With the outcome weighing very much in the balance, the Falcons held fast.

There would be no repeat of Monday’s late-game breakdown.

Losing was not an option.

Miller went coast-to-coast off a defensive rebound and delivered a resounding dunk for a 75-72 lead at 0:29.8.

After an exchange of possessions, Thompson banked in a layup at the buzzer to forge the margin of victory.

Huguenot shot 33-for-61, outrebounded Monacan 38-30, scored 54 points in the paint, and forced 19 turnovers.

The Chiefs shot 26-for 60, hit eight 3-pointers, scored 32 points in the paint, and, utilizing a variety of defensive looks, forced 18 Huguenot turnovers.

“We shared the ball evenly,” said Horatio Kinlock Jr. a 6-3 junior who led the Falcons with 25 points including 13 in their 24-14 third quarter. “We kept attacking the basket and kept scoring and tried to get some fouls. 

“We knew this would be a tough game. We just had to come in and execute.”