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Battlefield boys take out Stonewall 47-29
The Battlefield boys’ basketball team sure took its precious time to put together a legitimate winning streak this season.
Now that the Bobcats have actually amassed one, the question becomes whether they are truly peaking at a time when they can catch the Cedar Run District off guard and make a run through the playoffs.
Battlefield (8-12 overall, 5-8 district) took care of business last Friday night in Haymarket, beating cellar-dwelling Stonewall Jackson 47-29 in what Raiders coach Marcus Lawrence described as an “ugly” game.
The win marked the fourth time in the last six games Battlefield came away with a victory after having gone the entire season without winning more than two games in a row.
“We have turned things around here in the back-half of the season,” said Bobcats coach Al Ford.
Despite the home team having a sub-.500 record, the Haymarket faithful packed the home-team bleachers to a near-capacity level when arch-rival Stonewall came to town.
Offensively, it was all-Battlefield from the get-go on “Senior Night”, with an extra emphasis on senior guard Nick Vargas.
While Vargas produced a double-digit scoring effort for the first time in his varsity career, what was as interesting is he reached that plateau in the first quarter alone.
What was remarkable is nine of his 11 first quarter points came on three straight 3-pointers: shots from the right, center and left of the arc.
“The main thing in the first quarter was Nick Vargas,” said senior point-guard Tyler Bent.
Senior guard Shunn Simpkins (12 points) noted Vargas’s buckets were raining down from NBA-regulation distances for 3-pointers.
Fans ranging from those in the stands to public address announcer Chris Lem shouted louder and louder after each one.
After Battlefield built a 17-8 lead by the end of the first quarter, the game mode switched to “ugly.”
Stonewall Jackson managed one single point in the second quarter: a free throw from senior forward Martin Reyes near the 5 minute mark.
Battlefield was not a whole lot better at providing offensive entertainment in the second quarter either. The Bobcats hit field goals at the bookends of the quarter: two in the first minute and two in the last minute.
From there, the two teams played virtually even in the second half.
Yet the fans maintained a level of excitement usually associated with teams that win… frequently.
A slam-drunk by center Bryant Osei in the last minute of the game turned the already vibrant energy from the crowd nearly into electricity. Students in the audience heckled Stonewall guard Jordan Baird the entire game as he has strong ties to the Battlefield community from travel league ball.
“We feel it inside,” said Simpkins of the yells from the so-called “sixth man.”
The fun part for fans may just be that their team actually designed plays to set up potential dunk situations.
“Even tonight, Tyler came up to me and said, ‘Do we want to pull back our half-court trap?’” explained Ford. “And I said, ‘No, we want to stay in it to give Bryant the opportunity to pull off the dunk.’”
According to Ford, the trap-style defense allows his team to take advantage of bad passes and convert forced turnovers into easy buckets.
Unless the top-four teams in the district were knocked out in the first round or second round the Cedar Run District playoffs, Battlefield will not be hosting any playoff games, despite the recent string of wins.
That does not mean the Bobcats cannot be considered contenders, however, as long as they follow their coaches’ advice and grind out their wins.
“All the players are bonded together now and are starting to have fun with working hard,” said Ford. “Great effort can also be fun too and they’re starting to see that.”
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