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| Potomac Falls Greg Graves clutches the regional trophy like another rebound |
VivaLoudoun Editor
Purcellville (Feb. 26, 2012) - In 2010 the Potomac Falls High School Region II Division 4 boys basketball title was groundbreaking as the Panther program finally broke through to the elite level en route to Loudoun's first ever boys hoops state title.
Last year a repeat was expected as Potomac Falls rolled through region with all its starters back, and a squad of 10 seniors and the Panthers won a second straight state title in dramatic fashion. Saturday night's regional title for Potomac Falls, however, was unexpected as they come as the Panthers erased a 9-point fourth quarter deficit to win 48-44 at Loudoun Valley, the Dulles District regular season and tournament champions that had beaten Potomac Falls three times on the season already.
"Sweet!," said Potomac Falls coach Jeff Hawes when asked to describe the title and turnaround of a team, with just four players back from last year and lone starter in 6-foot-7 Greg Graves.
Graves adds final point and then the Panther celebration begins
Click here for more videos from the final stretch.
Potomac Falls (20-8) ended January at just 11-7 and on a skid of having dropped four of five but the Panthers have rebounded in February and are headed to the VHSL state quarterfinals next weekend where they will face Tabb at Robinson High School in Fairfax for a third consecutive year.
Loudoun Valley (24-4), which came in averaging 57 points a game against Potomac Falls this season but went cold down the stretch Saturday with just one field goal in the final five minutes of the contest and missing 12 consecutive shots at one point, will now travel to William and Mary next weekend to face Region I champion Grafton in the state quarterfinals.
Viking senior John Yoxthimer scored a game-high 17 points Saturday but 13 came in the first half as Loudoun Valley, which had run by Potomac Falls just a week ago in the Dulles District title 57-37, appeared poised to do it again as they led from the tip off until the final quarter in front of a standing room only crowd in Purcellville.
The Panthers switched up defenses in the second half and held the Vikings to just 18 points after the break. Graves, a Mount Saint Mary's recruit, was big in the final quarter with nine of his team-high 17 points and six of his 13 rebounds.
Maybe his biggest play of the night was a missed dunk with six minutes to go.
Potomac Falls SR Greg Graves postgame
Down by seven at that point, 37-30, Graves came flying in on the transition and attempted a major throwdown only to have ball hit off the back of the rim. As the Valley crowd roared the miss, Graves got the ball back after a wild scramble put the ball back in for an "and one" attempt.
Though he missed the free throw, Graves was unstoppable in the pain in the next minute, getting to the line for another "and one" and then scoring on a strong post move to make it 40-36 with 5:01 left. Panther junior point guard Robert Shorts had just seven points in the contest but his 3-pointer with 4:30 left ignited the Panthers fans and bench and cut the Vikings lead to just one, 40-39, with 4:30 left.
Valley had three possessions to pad their lead but couldn't score and the Panthers, after turning it over twice with a chance to take the lead, finally went ahead for the first time in the game when freshman Wanya Allen (11 points) drove to the basket with 2:17 remaining.
Potomac Falls senior Matt Galloway, one of those players around for last year's state title run, scored four of his seven points in the fourth and his "and one" boosted the Panthers lead to 44-40 with 1:44 left.
As Valley continued to misfire, mostly from 3-point range, in the final 90 seconds, the Panthers wrapped up the regional title at the foul line.
Yoxthimer got to the foul line when fouled on a 3-point attempt with 27 seconds left. Down 46-40, he made the first two but he missed the third after a delay when the officials gave the Panthers a delay of game warning for huddling prior to the third shot.
Valley's last chance came after Jovon Miller (9 points) followed in his own miss with 12 seconds left to make it 47-44. Needing a steal, Valley could only foul Graves with 10.8 seconds go go and he made the first of two to ice it.
Potomac Falls 48, Loudoun Valley 44
PF 9 10 8 21 - 48
LV 11 15 7 11 - 44
PF: Galloway 2 2-4 7, Shorts 2 1-2 7, Allen 5 1-3 11, Orbe 3 0-0 6, Graves 7 3-5 17. Totals 19 7-14 48.
LV: Robinson 1 0-0 3, Yoxthimer 6 2-3 17, Kiani 1 0-0 2, Grimard 4 0-0 8, Miller 4 1-1 9, Rowley 1 1-2 3, Jackson 1 0-0 2. Totals 18 4-6 44.
3-Pointers: PF 3 (Shorts 2, Galloway), LV 4 (Yoxthimer 3, Robinson).
.JPG)
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