Ashburn (December 28, 2012) – The Briar Woods High School boys basketball team hustled and defended their way to a 64-52 win over Stone Bridge Friday in the second night of the Honda of Dulles Battle of Ashburn Tournament.
Briar Woods (3-4 record) and Stone Bridge (2-8) matched up pretty evenly throughout the first half, but late in the second quarter Falcons’ senior forward Jake Ryan (27 points, 6 rebounds) got hot, connecting on baskets on four of Briar Woods’ last five possessions of the half.
His makes started with a short corner jumper that quieted Stone Bridge sophomore point guard Jason Jolly (13 points), who had just scored five points in less than 25 seconds on consecutive Bulldogs’ possessions. Ryan then added another momentum shifter as he pulled up and knocked down a three from about five feet behind the top of the arc, right after Bulldog freshman shooting guard John Bohanon (7 points, 5 rebounds) hit a three on the other end.
Ryan capped off his first half scoring roll, driving the lane and taking Stone Bridge’s senior big man Jon Allen (5 points, 10 rebounds) right to the basket where he finished with a layup. Ryan, who scored 14 first half points, led his teammates into the locker room at halftime leading by just four, 27-23.
The second half was all Briar Woods, and all Jake Ryan, as the Falcons outscored the Bulldogs 37-29 after laying off the gas with six minutes left in the contest.
Briar Woods’ sophomore guard Connor Gaines scored the two baskets that proved to put the game out of reach late in the fourth quarter as he knocked down a three and then intercepted a pass and finished with an easy layup.
Analysis: Briar Woods finished the tournament 1-1 after suffering a loss to Broad Run on Thursday. Highhlights for the Falcons include the poised scoring and leadership capabilities from the young Gaines and the scoring from Ryan.
Gaines averaged 12 points while only turning the ball over five times in two games. His senior cohort, true point guard Kevin Galang averaged 11.5 points, knocking down 13 of his 15 free throws, and added eight assists. The Gaines-Galang duo is probably the most exciting, fundamentally sound, in-sync guard combination I’ve seen in Loudoun County this year.
Ryan averaged 22 points and six rebounds a game, and neither Broad Run nor Stone Bridge had a defensive answer for him. A defender steps out to contest a 3-pointer and he head fakes and takes the guy to the basket; a defender gives him a step and he drills a three from basically anywhere beyond the arc. The only problem Ryan had this week came in the turnover department as he had 10 in the two games, one less time than the aforementioned guard duo.
Briar Woods Stats
Kevin Galang 5 points, 2 rebounds, 1 steal, 5/7 free throws, 5 assists
Connor Gaines 14 points, 2 rebounds, 1 steal, 1 assist
Ryan Lam 5 points, 6 rebounds, 1 steal, 3/3 free throws
Jake Ryan 27 points, 6 rebounds, 1 steal, 2/2 free throws
Spencer Hatcher 7 points, 6 rebounds, 3 steals, 1/2 free throws, 2 assists
Darrell Ramey 6 points, 3 rebounds, 1 steal, 1 assist
Logan Reed 1 rebound
TJ Enoch 1 blocked shot
Mark Birmingham 1 rebound, 1 assist
BWHS Totals
64 points, 27 rebounds, 14 turnovers, 8 steals, 1 blocked shot, 11/14 free throws, 10 assists
Stone Bridge Stats
Jason Jolly 13 points, 1 rebound, 1 steal, 4/4 free throws, 3 assists
Emad Rahman 10 points, 3 rebounds, 1 steal, 1/2 free throws
Nick Barnes 2 points, 2 rebounds, 1 assist
Jimmy Higgins 6 points, 3 rebounds, 2 steals, 1 blocked shot
Jon Allen 5 points, 10 rebounds, 2 steals, 1/4 free throws, 1 assist
Norman Barnes 7 points, 3 rebounds, 5/6 free throws
Bubba Lough 0/2 free throws
Jack Gallagher 1 steal, 1 assist
John Bohanon 8 points, 5 rebounds, 2 steals, 0/2 free throws
Cameron Reynolds 1 point, 1 rebound, 1 steal, 1/2 free throws
Hunter Tice 2 rebounds
SBHS Totals
52 points, 30 rebounds, 17 turnovers, 10 steals, 1 blocked shot, 12/22 free throws, 6 assists
