Boys’ basketball closed out their regular season to finish with a 9-12 record before getting seeded to play in the playoffs.
On Feb. 12 the boys traveled to Northwood to get a crucial win for playoff seeding. The Patriots had the lead the entire game and looked to secure the win after senior guard Garrett Koch hit a crazy mid-range jump shot to put the boys up by one with just five seconds left. Northwood then in-bounded the ball and at the last second heaved up a contested half court shot that went in for three.
The Patriots lost 56-54 in devastating fashion. Senior forward True Johnson lead the team with 22 points and Koch followed closely behind with 11. “It was a devastating loss that will be hard to overcome, but we need to focus on the playoffs,” Koch said.
The Patriots then traveled to Whitman on Feb. 15 to take on a talented Vikings team that finished 13-9 with a 6-2 divisional record. Whitman grabbed the lead early and never let go, but the Patriots stayed close the entire game and ended up losing 63-58. “We knew this was going to be a tough game and we ended up playing well, but not well enough to get the win,” senior forward Harrison Cance said.
On Feb. 22, the boys had their final regular season game and senior night at home against Rockville. The Patriots consists of tons of seniors, including Koch, Cance, senior guards Ryan Mariani and Kevin Ayissi-Etoh, senior forward Greg Urovsky, True Johnson, Chris Vondas, Trey Wilson, and senior center Jonnie Voyta.
The boys started out the game with all seniors starting and had a slow start, but picked up the pace. Ayissi-Etoh dropped 20, with Johnson also dropping 19 to propel the boys to 72-47 win. Cance also scored a crucial 12 points to help the Patriots win. “It was a great team win tonight, perfect way to go into the playoffs,” Cance said.
After the game the senior boys each had their own speech, reflecting on their time playing for the basketball team.
The Patriots are currently the five seed and they played QO on Mar. 1, stunning the Cougars by winning 50-42. The boys played Gaithersburg in the second round of the playoffs on Mar. 4, too late to be covered in the issue.
