Leesburg, Va. — Having failed to reach the .500 mark the last three seasons, the Loudoun County High School boys basketball team wanted to start 2018 off on the right foot. And the Raiders did just that as they used a balanced offense to defeat Rock Ridge, 64-57, to open their season on November 29 in Leesburg.
“It was a complete team effort,” Loudoun County head coach Mark Alexander said. “This is a close-knit group. I’ve known some of these kids since I coached them in Little League. It’s just an awesome group, so it was good to see them gut it out.”
[adrotate banner=”19″]Led by junior point guard Matt Anderson – who scored a game-high 19 points while picking up 5 assists – and senior forward Joe Alexander – who added 10 points and 5 rebounds – the Raiders got scoring contributions from seven different guys and had four players score in the double digits.
“Last year, we had that issue: Matt and Joe were it,” Coach Alexander said. “Now that we can get other guys to step up, it will take some pressure off them. And I think that it might be different guys every night.”
Loudoun County’s third and fourth double-digit performances came from sophomore shooting guard Caleb Rexroad and senior forward Kyle Towne – who also collected a game-high 7 rebounds. Towne’s play inside gave the Raiders a presence in the paint, allowing space for Alexander, Anderson and Rexroad to create on the perimeter.
“Having a big body in there for me to come off a screen and lob it up to him helps us out a lot,” Anderson said. “Kyle really helps bounce guys around inside.”
Boys Basketball: Four double-digit scorers lead Loudoun County past Rock Ridge. @LCRaiderHoops 64, @RockRidgeHigh 57 FINAL #LoCoHoops
— Owen Gotimer (@BigO_Gotimer) November 30, 2018
While the Raiders spread out their offense, the Loudoun County defense had its hands full with Rock Ridge senior shooting guard Alex Fitch – who led the Phoenix with 15 points.
“We just tried to lock down Alex Fitch as best as we could,” Joe Alexander said. “He’s a great scorer, but we had a lot of guys step up defensively.”
After widening the gap in the second quarter, Loudoun County had to fend off a rally from Fitch and the Phoenix as Rock Ridge pounded the offensive glass late in the first half. Ultimately, however, the Raiders’ depth and inside play lifted them to a season-opening win.
“I’m happy that these kids are so coachable and so fun to be around,” Coach Alexander said. “I love all my guys, but these guys are special.”
The Raiders (0-0, 1-0) and Phoenix (0-0, 0-1) are both back in action on November 30 at Loudoun County High School. The Phoenix will tango with Heritage (0-0, 2-0) at 6 p.m. while the Raiders host Broad Run (0-0, 0-1) at 8 p.m.
Loudoun County Stats
| Loudoun County | Points | Rebounds | Assists | Steals | Blocks |
Free Throws
|
| Matt Anderson | 19 | 5 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 5-for-5 |
| Caleb Rexroad | 13 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0-for-1 |
| Kyle Towne | 12 | 7 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2-for-4 |
| Joe Alexander | 10 | 5 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0-for-0 |
| Luke Brenner | 6 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2-for-2 |
| Kevin Hart | 2 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0-for-0 |
| Tommy Daughtrey | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2-for-3 |
| Andy Lopez | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0-for-0 |
| Jacob Wilson | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0-for-0 |
| Raiders Totals | 64 | 29 | 11 | 6 | 3 | 11-for-15 |
Rock Ridge Stats
| Rock Ridge | Points | Rebounds | Assists | Steals | Blocks |
Free Throws
|
| Alex Fitch | 15 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0-for-1 |
| Andrew Sanderson | 11 | 6 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 3-for-4 |
| Evan Fitch | 9 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0-for-0 |
| Ryan Conrow | 8 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 2-for-2 |
| Sam Larsen | 7 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 3-for-4 |
| Joe Simmons | 5 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2-for-4 |
| Elliott Lightner | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0-for-0 |
| Chris Canfield | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0-for-0 |
| Phoenix Totals | 57 | 26 | 7 | 7 | 2 | 10-for-15 |
Correction: Any earlier version of this post said Matt Anderson was a senior. Anderson is a junior.
