OP boys advance to Cedar Run Final

Hugh Rist For the News & Messenger
Published: February 22, 2008

Before the game Thursday night when a reporter wished him luck, Osbourn Park coach Bob Lake said, "We'll take a little luck, and maybe some snow."

Considering that the Yellow Jackets have now played five games in eight days, it is easy to see why Lake would make such a statement.

The game itself provided mixed results as to whether or not the Jackets' heavy workload lately affected its performance in a 56-43 victory over Loudoun Valley in the semifinals of the Cedar Run District Tournament at Stonewall Jackson High School.

The Yellow Jackets will face Battlefield on Saturday at 3:30 p.m. in the tournament final at Stonewall Jackson High School.

Osbourn Park (17-8) scored the first seven points of the game, while holding the Vikings to 13 percent (2 of 15) shooting in the first quarter en route to a 14-4 lead it never relinquished.

However, Loudoun Valley (15-9) outscored the Yellow Jackets 13-7 in the second quarter as the Jackets shot just 18 percent (2 of 11) from the field and committed seven turnovers. Lake attributed the second quarter performance to a lack of focus.

"I didn't think we ran any offense in that quarter. We didn't take care of the basketball, after playing so well in the first quarter," Lake said. "It (the recent heavy workload) could have been (a factor early) because we had a hard practice yesterday. But I am not concerned. We know what we have to do. Everybody has played each other three times, so we know all these teams and what we have to do to win."

Osbourn Park, which made 23 of 27 free throws (85 percent) for the game, used its strong shooting from the line to keep itself in the game despite its early struggle to get into the flow. In the third quarter, however, the Yellow Jackets shot 43 percent (6 of 14) from the field, outscoring the Vikings, 16-6. Jon Lake, the coach's son, sparked the spurt with five points.

Bob Lake said he was pleased with the fact that no one player stood out offensively.

"Our highest scorer (Marcus Brooks) finished with 11 points, so we really spread it around and got a lot of our kids playing time," Lake said. "I thought Nelson Ward (who scored four of his six points in the first quarter) played a very good game for us."

Loudoun Valley actually outscored the Jackets 20-19 in the final quarter, but the game was well in hand for Osbourn Park by then.