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Mason leads Brentsville over Central in overtime, 66-57
Dalonte Mason can be kept silent on the court for just so long before he erupts.
The Central Falcons did their best to contain Mt. Mason Tuesday night in Nokesville, limiting Brentsville’s leading score to only two second half points after he scored 12 in the first half.
Then, the lid burst.
Mason put up back-to-back-to-back buckets in under two minutes of play during overtime, later adding on two more points on successful free throw attempts, helping the Tigers (5-8 overall, 3-2 conference) come back from a two-point OT deficit to win 66-57 over Northwestern District rival Central (4-7, 0-4).
Per usual, Mason led the team in scoring with 22 points while teammate Tyler Brown also broke double-digits, ending up with 13.
“He’s very streaky like that and we caught him in a situation” where he had a will to win, said Brentsville coach Chris Southcott of Mason.
Central coach Roger Wilkins commented that his team tried to force Mason into foul trouble in the second half, which would make him more cautious. It worked temporarily as not only was Mason kept off the scoreboard for the entire fourth quarter, but Central’s junior center JJ Armentout was able to grab several offensive rebounds and put them back in the hoop on second- and third-chance shots. Armentout led the Falcons with 18 points.
“When the shot leaves somebody’s hands, he’s moving ‘right now’,” said Wilkins. The rookie head coach called the 6-foot, 3-inch center one of the best players he has seen for anticipating the movement of the basketball and noted his on-court awareness.
Defensively, Central wanted to slow down Brentsville and force the Tigers into man-to-man set-ups. Central’s offense, meanwhile, slowly chipped away at the Tigers’ eight-point halftime lead and finally tied the game with 1:17 left on the clock in the fourth quarter. The Falcons took their first lead since the score was 2-0 in the first quarter after Aaron Heishman drained two foul shots with 51 ticks remaining in regulation, putting Central up 50-48.
Brentsville came back with four straight points and Armentout tied it up one more time with 9 seconds left, giving Brentsville one last opportunity which went nowhere following a missed buzzer-beater jump shot inside the paint from Brown.
What surprised the Brentsville coaching staff during the game was the performance of new recruits John Sonnenberg and David Hammond, both of whom were freshly brought up from the junior varsity team.
The two combined to score 13 points, 11 of which came in regulation. Sonnenberg (eight points) was in the mix for a couple loose balls defensively while Hammond (five points) banked a game-tying deuce with less than 50 seconds remaining before the buzzer.
“They give us a little more depth at the guard position,” Southcott said, stressing the two’s knack for hustling on the court.
While undefeated Millbrook (9-0, 3-0) sat on top of the District with James Wood (6-4, 3-0) before Tuesday night, the win by Brentsville kept the Tigers within striking distance of third place John Handley (6-3, 2-1) and fourth place Sherando (4-4, 2-1).
Even if Millbrook and James Wood finish first and second in the district at the end of the regular season, if the Tigers secure a third or fourth place finish, then they are guaranteed to host at least one game in the district playoffs.
“That’s our goal for the year: to play a home game in the tournament,” said Southcott.
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