Boys Basketball: Loudoun Valley Returns to States for First Time Since 2004 with Decisive 56-29 Win Over Millbrook

John Yoxthimer led the Vikes Thursday with 23 points, 17 rebounds

By Dan Sousa
VivaLoudoun Editor
Purcellville (Feb. 24, 2012) - There can be no doubt that the one play that defined Thursday's Region II Division 4 boys basketball semifinal game came with 4:24 left in the contest as Loudoun Valley High School senior John Yoxthimer rattled the rim with a dunk to put his Vikings up 50-25 on Millbrook.

While Yoxthimer was putting the finishing touch on a 23-point, 17-rebound performance, on the other end of the floor Millbrook's top player, Rze Culbreath, in street clothes, was attending to a teammate that had left a trail of blood across the floor to the bench after taking a stray shot to the face.

It was simply a painful night for No. 5 seed Millbrook as the top seeded Vikings (24-3) jumped out to a 10-1 lead and never trailed en route to a decisive 56-29 victory that returns Loudoun Valley to the state playoff for the first time since 2004. First Loudoun Valley will shoot for the school's first regional title since 1999 when they host Dulles District foe Potomac Falls (19-8) on Saturday at 7 p.m.


Both teams advance to the VHSL Division 4 quarterfinals with Saturday's winner getting a game close to home against the Region I runner-up (most likely at Robinson High School in Fairfax County) and the loser hitting the road to face the Region I winner.

"We don't want this season to ever end," said Yoxthimer who continues to add to his storied career which makes him the school's all-time leading rebounder with more than 500 boards and one of the school's top scorers in history with more than 1,000 points.

While Culbreath and Donte Harris combined for 43 points to lead Millbrook to a 60-49 win over Briar Woods Tuesday, on Thursday they combined for six with Culbreath on the bench after suffering an injury at school earlier in the day and Harris harassed by the Viking defense into a 2 of 14 shooting performance.

For the night, Millbrook went just 22 percent from the field (11 of 50) while Valley, with some precise passing and assists coming from all quarters, shot 49 percent (23 of 47). On the boards it was all Valley as junior Jovon Miller and sophomore Paul Rowley each had eight rebounds to bolster Yoxthimers monster performance and give Valley a whopping 43-29 edge.

Despite early foul trouble for Valley's starters the Vikings were in complete control with a 20-5 lead after the first quarter and towards the end of the third quarter they were cruising with a 44-18 edge. Like he did against Potomac Falls in last week's Dulles District finals, Yoxthimer was hot early with 12 of his 23 in the first quarter. Miller with a great all-around game added 14 on 6 of 8 shooting and Grimard made the most of his playing time with 12 points on 4 of 6 shooting.

Millbrook's Boomer Kaczmarzewski, with a heart twice as big as his 6-foot-1 frame, led the Pioneers with 11 points and five rebounds.

"We are playing very well at the right time," said Chad Dawson, who was in his first year at the Vikings helm when they last made the state playoffs.

Loudoun Valley 56, Millbrook 29
MB  5  8   7   9 - 29
LV 20  8 16 12 - 56

MB: Harris 2-14 2-4 6, Kaczmarzewski 5-15 1-3 11, Abunasser 1-1 0-0 2, Taylor 1-5 4-7 6, Trexler 1-3 0-0 2, Brooks 1-3 0-0 2, Russell 0-4 0-0 0, Baylor 0-3 0-0 0, Mankins 0-1 0-0 0, Mannarino 0-1 0-0 0. Total 11-50 7-14 29.

LV: Miller 6-8 1-2 13, Yoxthimer 10-18 0-0 23, Kiani 1-5 2-4 4, Grimard 4-6 3-4 12, Rowley 2-7 0-1 4, Fulton 0-1 0-0 0, Robinson 0-1 0-0 0, Jackson 0-1 0-0 0. Total 23-47 6-11 56.

3-Pointers: MB none; LV 4 (Yoxthimer 3, Grimard).

Rebounds: MB 29 (Harris 6, Taylor 6, Kaczmarzewski 5, Trexler 3, Mankins 1, Baylor 1, Russell 1, Brooks 1, TEAM 5). LV 42 (Yoxthimer 17, Miller 8, Rowley 8, Grimard 3, Jackson 2, Kiani 1, Robinson 1, TEAM 2).

Turnovers: MB 10, LV 11.