By Alan Goldenbach
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, January 4, 2007

Magruder's Donald Robinson had a tough time getting his hands on the ball in the first half. So when he broke free from Springbrook's double-teams after halftime, he didn't hesitate.

"I had to heat up quickly," Robinson said. "I couldn't wait to see if I had it or not."

Fortunately for the Colonels, Robinson was on. He made his first four attempts from behind the three-point arc in the second half, each one proving critical to No. 19 Magruder erasing a halftime deficit and seizing a 53-44 road victory in a matchup of perhaps Montgomery County's top two teams.

While Robinson was hot, No. 15 Springbrook couldn't find any luck from outside. The Blue Devils (8-1, 2-1) were stunned to find Magruder (7-1, 3-0) playing a 2-3 zone. Springbrook, normally a strong shooting team, figured it would play right into its hands.

"That's the last thing we thought we'd see from them," Springbrook senior guard Othello Banaci said. "We never see teams come out in a zone. So when I took a shot, I was like, 'It has to be going in,' but it didn't. We just couldn't find the hole."

The Blue Devils missed 16 of their first 17 attempts from behind the arc and made two from long range all game.

"We didn't shoot well enough to win," Springbrook Coach Tom Crowell said, "and we weren't taking bad shots."

Once Magruder's defense got inside Springbrook's collective head, the Colonels went to full-court pressure in the second half. The press forced turnovers and fatigued the Blue Devils.

"Even if they broke the press, it takes so much effort," Magruder Coach Dan Harwood said, "and that wore down their guards."

Trailing 24-21 early in the third quarter, Magruder scored the next seven points to take the lead for good. Robinson's first three-pointer made it 28-24. Then after C.J. Garner's layup for Springbrook, Robinson hit another from long range.

When Springbrook pulled to 35-34 early in the fourth, Robinson hit another three. His fourth gave Magruder its biggest lead yet, 43-36, with 5 minutes 36 seconds left. He finished with 20 points.

In the girls' game that followed, No. 11 Springbrook broke open a close game at halftime by using its transition game to take control of a 50-36 victory.

The Blue Devils (8-1, 2-1) went on a 10-2 run late in the third quarter to take a double-digit lead for the duration. The open-court game benefited Springbrook's top two scorers, senior guards Eryn Withers and Taryn Christian. After combining for seven first-half points, they put up 23 after halftime, and each finished with 15.

No. 19 Magruder Boys 53 No. 15 Springbrook 44Always Close:Since the start of the 2001-02 season, seven boys' games between Magruder and Springbrook have been decided by four points or less, and only one by more than 10.No. 11 Springbrook Girls 50 Magruder 36Always Not:Springbrook's girls, who have won at least 20 games in each of the past three seasons, have won their last seven meetings against Magruder, five by double figures.