Sports
Herndon Outruns South Lakes 87-76 to Reach Northern Region Semifinals
Hornets to play Saturday against T.C. Williams for shot at states
While shaking hands after the game at midcourt Wednesday, Herndon coach Chris Whelan and South Lakes coach Andrew Duggan sarcastically mentioned to each other that there was little use for their coaching aptitude, much less a whiteboard to draw up plays.
In a frenetically paced game, Herndon outlasted South Lakes 87-76 to advance to the semifinals of the Northern Region.
“These rivalry games in a tournament, you never know what’s going to happen,” Whelan said. “I told Andrew [Duggan], ‘We didn’t do much coaching-wise, those kids just played.’”
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The Hornets were paced by the relentless sharpshooting from the backcourt tandem of seniors Austin Hamilton (game-high 33 points) and Jonathan Beltran (22 points). Every time the Seahawks made a run, the duo invariably answered back with a deep 3-pointer or a dribble-drive through the lane.
Earlier this season in December, Herndon easily beat South Lakes twice, and in both meetings the Hornets led by at least 15 points after the first quarter.
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The situation was far different the third time that the rivals met. South Lakes was not affected by a raod atmosphere that was magnified with a rowdy gymnasium that was sold out more than an hour before tipoff.
The Seahawks’ utilized their athletic wing players in the first quarter to take a 25-23 lead that was fueled by junior D.J. Christian, who penetrated early and often for 12 points in the first quarter. Christian, along with senior Darius Smith and junior J.D. Wallace, didn’t back down against Herndon’s renowned backcourt. Senior guard Joe Daye also contributed early with outside jumpers.
“We knew that with those guys if they just penetrated we could get by them,” Duggan said. “We felt we could get by them and get really good looks at the basket if we attacked the rim and hopefully open things up on the perimeter.”
Herndon’s Jonathan Beltran made his first 3-pointer to start the second quarter to give the Hornets their first lead of the game at 26-25. They wouldn’t yield the lead again for the remainder of the game. Seconds after he made his first three, Beltran hit another 3-pointer and then another. Quickly, the Hornets led 32-25 and took a 45-37 lead into halftime.
“At the end of the first quarter, I wasn’t hitting my shots and my teammates told me to keep shooting,” said Beltran, who made four 3-pointers in the second quarter. “They kept giving me the ball and I listened, and my shots fell down.”
Earlier in the season, South Lakes may have backed down following Herndon’s second-quarter run, but the Seahawks demonstrated mental toughness and continued without hesitation to drive aggressively to the basket.
With 3:48 left in the third quarter, South Lakes’ senior Darius Smith (17 points) converted on a running jumper that banked in to close the Hornets’ lead to 52-50. Shortly after, Northern Region Player of the Year Austin Hamilton showed up in a big way. A minute after leading by one possession, Hamilton made a 3-pointer to give the Hornets a 57-50 lead. After three quarters, Herndon led 62-54.
The stubborn Seahawks still wouldn’t go away without a fight. Forward D.J. Christian drove twice through the lane by shedding defenders off the dribble and used his left hand for a layup to bring South Lakes within 64-58 with six minutes remaining. Christian shined with a team-high 26 points, but it wasn’t enough.
That would be the closest that the Seahawks would get against the experienced Hornets the rest of the way. Leading by eight points with less than three minutes remaining, Herndon senior guard Raleigh McKenzie provided a perfect dump off pass to junior Marques Berry to give Herndon a 74-64 lead. Berry, a key reserve, contributed big minutes, scoring eight of his 10 points in the second half to help fend off a game opponent.
“Our team played hard and gave everything effort-wise and heart-wise, and I couldn’t be any prouder,” said Duggan, whose first season as South Lakes head coach concludes with a 14-12 record.
The Hornets closed the game out in the final two minutes on the foul line, making 27-of-34 free throws for the game compared with South Lakes’ 3-of-12 performance.
In a clash between the Concorde and Patriot District champions, Herndon will play T.C. Williams in the Northern Region semifinals on Saturday at 6 p.m. at Robinson Secondary School. The winner automatically qualifies for the state tournament.
The teams didn’t meet in the regular season. The last time they met was in the 2008 Northern Region first round, where the Titans won 69-49.
“We know that they’re extremely athletic and they crash the boards hard,” Whelan said. “We just got to come ready to play and play some defense.”
