Balanced Broad Run Attack Sinks Loudoun County
Persistence Pays In 5th Straight Win

By Paul Tenorio
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, January 8, 2009

For much of the first half of Tuesday night's Virginia AA Dulles District matchup between Broad Run and Loudoun County in Leesburg, the Spartans seemed to dominate.

At the break, the Raiders had committed 11 turnovers, including eight in the first quarter. And Loudoun star point guard Joe Bushrod, who entered the night as the area's leading scorer, averaging 20.9 points per game, had been held to one point.

But despite those statistics, the number that mattered most was the score. And at the break, the Spartans led by five.

"I said: 'Guys, we're up by five. I feel like we should be up by so much more,' " Broad Run first-year coach John Costello said. "I don't think we were finishing like we should. In the second half, we came out in the first two minutes and . . . bam."

Broad Run started the half on an 11-3 run behind its balanced attack, opening a 13-point advantage, then held off a fourth-quarter Loudoun County run to win, 71-59.

The victory was the fifth consecutive for the Spartans (11-1, 3-1). Loudoun dropped its fifth straight after opening the season with five wins.

It was clear Broad Run has embraced the concept pushed by Costello early this season: that the late addition of the state championship football players would solidify the Spartans' depth.

Ten players scored for the Spartans, and four had at least 10 points: guards Didier Saidi and Breon Earl and forwards Taylor Johnson and Kevin McGaughey.

McGaughey, the Spartans' star junior, had five points at the end of the first half but had a well-rounded game, with four rebounds, two steals and an assist at the break. And in the second half, McGaughey stepped up offensively, hitting two big three-pointers in the third quarter. He finished with a game-high 20 points and eight rebounds.

His contributions, along with six third-quarter points from Johnson, helped the Spartans open an 11-point advantage going into the final quarter.

"Not many teams can stick with us on our full-court fast-break game," McGaughey said. "And we weren't converting layups [in the first half], and we started converting layups in the second half, and that's when we pulled away."

Bushrod, who put up 30 points the previous night, entered the final frame with just three points. And Broad Run's players and coaches said the game plan going into the night was to keep the ball out of the senior's hands.

But at the start of the fourth, Mahir Mrkonjic hit two big threes, his fourth and fifth of the night, and Tyler Larson continued his strong second-half play (12 points, seven rebounds after the break). Suddenly, Loudoun County (5-5, 0-4) was within six with just over two minutes remaining.

But after hitting a layup to pull the Raiders within four, Tim McLister was called for a blocking foul as Broad Run's Ahmad Zafar finished a layup. And the senior guard smacked the floor in frustration, drawing a technical foul.

McGaughey hit both shots on the technical, and Earl was fouled on the ensuing possession and hit both free throws to open the lead back to 10. Loudoun never got within eight after that.

The Raiders were led by Mrkonjic (15 points). Rick Cottom (10 points, 11 rebounds) and Larson (12 points and 10 rebounds) registered double-doubles. Bushrod finished with nine points.