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Battlefield rally falls short against Stonewall
Once again, the Battlefield boys basketball team showed its potential for greatness, coming back from a 38-16 halftime deficit to take a one-point lead in the fourth quarter over Stonewall Jackson last Friday night in Manassas.
And, once again, the Bobcats (4-10) failed to capitalize as they sent the Raiders (3-9) to the foul line four times in the last minute of play, giving up seven points and the game 68-63.
The game marked the second time in a week Battlefield had grinded out a fourth quarter lead against a district rival only to blow the game in the last minute of play. Against Osbourn Park that previous Tuesday, the Bobcats gave up a buzzer-beating 3-pointer with about five seconds left in the fourth quarter, clinching a come-from-behind 48-46 OP victory
All that came after Battlefield coach Al Ford had guaranteed a victory following his team’s home-court 66-51 loss to Gar-Field one day earlier.
Stonewall dominated the court in the first half, ending each quarter with buzzer-beating 3-pointers by Brandon Robinson (19 points) and Dominic Chappell (15 points), respectively.
“That killed us right there,” senior Battlefield forward Rex Parker said, as the six points proved to be one more than the margin of victory. “We could have had it but that killed us right there.”
Junior forward Marty Dawson tried to whip the Battlefield boys back into shape after Chappell’s triple.
According to Bobcats coach Al Ford, Dawson brought a new energy to the Battlefield locker room, yelling to his teammates, “We’re not going to walk out of here without winning this game!”
Ford commented that “there’s pride and the pride translated” to points on the board in the second half.
Sure enough, Battlefield managed to chip away at the Stonewall lead after senior guard Shunn Simkins (12 points) sank a baseline 3-pointer two minutes into the second half before fellow guard Tyler Bent (10 points) hit three straight foul shots and a pull-up jumper.
With Battlefield trailing 50-33 at the end of the third quarter, Tim Horn’s solid performance from the free throw line at the start of the fourth quqarter along with baskets from Simkins and junior guards Adrian Ingram and Chris Parker cut the Stonewall lead to single digits. The four Bobcats sparked a 21-4 run that climaxed with Horn leaping up to the glass after a Bent miss and tapping the ball back into the hoop, drawing the fifth and exiting foul along the way from senior forward Breon Shelton.
Horn drilled his free throw with 2:38 remaining in the final quarter as the scoreboard read 54-54.
Stonewall’s senior guard Robinson then stepped up with two successful one-and-one free throws but the bit of Stonewall momentum evaporated seconds later when Chappell was called for stepping out of bounds, turning the ball back over the Battlefield.
“That was our Achilles heel tonight,” said Stonewall coach Marcus Lawrence, noting his team’s 28 turnovers. He later added, “When Breon fouled out, it was difficult. We couldn’t match up (down low).”
After sophomore guard James Robinson threw the inbound pass to Simpkins, Robinson worked a give-and-go of sorts as he got the ball right back and drained a go-ahead 3-pointer with 2:08 left on the clock.
Battlefield and Stonewall traded hoops afterward and, with the game tied at 61-61 in the last minute of play, the Bobcats’ defense played sloppy while Stonewall’s foul shooting was near flawless. Brandon Robinson hit five out of six free throws and junior guard Jordan Baird buried another two while Battlefield could only muster a single field goal.
Brandon Robinson stripped James Robinson of the ball in the final seconds of the game to clinch the wild affair for the Raiders.
“If we would have played our second half game, we would have won easily. Easily,” said Battlefield forward Rex Parker.
Battlefield cashed in a 4-for-6 performance from the foul line in the final 90 seconds of play and hit nine out of 13 shots in the fourth quarter.
But it was Stonewall’s 23-for-30 effort at the line that ultimately paid off, especially compared to Battlefields’ 18-for-29 effort.
“I think as a team, we did pretty good,” senior Raiders forward Breon Shelton (6 points) said. “We just got to grab more boards.”
The Bobcats also benefited from Shelton and Chappell fouling out and six-foot-five forward Martin Reyes running into foul trouble of his own, thus limiting his playing time.
Even with ample opportunities however, Battlefield just could not pull out a victory as has become a trend of late for the Bobcats.
“It looks ugly right now,” Ford said after the game of his team’s 4-10 record, adding later, “We got to close it out.”
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