If the offensive will of one man alone was enough to win basketball games, then Tarik Diggs could have delivered the Battlefield boys basketball team a monstrous victory last Friday.

Alas, that's just not exactly how things work out in sports.

Stonewall Jackson managed to hold back a late scoring surge by the Bobcats in Manassas on Dec. 16, leading to a 53-55 victory by the host team.

The 27-spot put up by Diggs edged out the 23 from Stonewall's JR Washington to lead both teams on the day. Roman Hall of Battlefield chipped in another 11, J.D. Robinson and Terrell Walker each contributed 7 points and Trevor Blondin sank a 3-pointer in the first quarter.

Stonewall seemed to control the tempo in the first half, even commanding a first-quarter slam dunk by Marquis Yates. A Yates jump shot in the second quarter gave SJ its biggest lead of the first half at 21-15.

Yet the Bobcats stormed back with Diggs and Hall combining for nine points in the final minutes before half time, leading to a 27-24 score.

The two struck again at the start of the second half with buckets on the bookends of a shot by Yates.

Down by just one point, Hall grabbed a rebound and ran the length of the court. He deposited a shot that put BHS up 30-29 for the first time all game with 6:22 on the clock in the first quarter.

Tied up at 34-34, Yates sank a fading jumper behind the foul line and then followed up with another jumper.

A classic three-point play by Washington and a short shot by Diandre Stubbs amounted to a 9-0 SJ run that left Battlefield in a big hole just after they had come back.

Offensively, "they're a little sharper than we are," said Battlefield head coach Kurt Pauly. "Transition defense: that killed us."

Diggs, however, fashioned himself out to be a playmaker.

He hit a 3-pointer with 1:28 to go before the fourth quarter and ran roughshod through the final 8 minutes.

Just moving the ball and feel "was pretty much my whole game plan," said Diggs.

After Battlefield called for a timeout down 47-43, the Bobcats grabbed a steal and connected with Walker on a fast-break for a slam dunk that electrified the Battlefield faithful.

Whatever momentum BHS gained from the dunk, they quickly lost as the referees called a technical foul for Walker hanging on the rim. Washington converted two foul shots and Stonewall regained possession.

Yet a quirk in the officiating actually gave Battlefield a chance to come back. At the time of the technical foul, the game clock read 2:37. Somehow, the scoreboard suddenly reset and the game time and score were erased.

Official books made it easy to replace the score but the referees guessed the approximate time incorrectly despite evidence to the contrary, leading Stonewall head coach Marcus Lawrence to exclaim, "I'm protesting this!"

He didn't need to in the end.

Stonewall rebuilt a seven-point edge, cut to five by another Diggs bucket. Battlefield was forced into fouling from there and never quite recovered, falling behind by nine points within less than 90 seconds to go.

Battlefield exited the match with a 1-4 record and in need of a boost entering the winter break. The Bobcats are set to host their next game Jan. 3 against Freedom (South Riding).

"We're going to turn things around for our team," said Diggs.