Damascus High School vs Walter Johnson High School

Photo courtesy of @shotbyaidan Instagram. The Montgomery County standings race is only getting more competitive, and sitting at 6-5 on the season, Damascus boys’ basketball desperately needed a momentum boost. It got just that against Walter Johnson, and it was away from home to boot. The Wildcats were 6-3 heading into Friday’s tilt, but the Hornets emerged with the win, 58-53. Damascus imposed its will inside early on, scoring the game’s first few baskets on a tough drive to the rim and double-team hook shot. The Hornets were active on defense, too, either stripping the Wildcats or quickly transitioning their misses. Damascus even took a heady charge early on, providing it with some stellar momentum. It was ultimately a 9-0 run to start the game for the Hornets before the Wildcats' Will Kreisle netted a 3-pointer nearly three minutes into the game. That quickly became Walter Johnson’s calling card: shots from beyond the arc. The Wildcats deployed a five-out system, driving and kicking to try and manufacture some open shots. And while many of the shots were open, just two others went in throughout the course of the quarter — that served as the team’s lone points. Damascus continued to keep Walter Johnson at bay throughout the second quarter. It didn’t rush any of its shots or offensive sets, carefully setting screens and picks to open up midrange opportunities and drives. The Wildcats closed the gap to three points at the half, getting some trips to the line late, while Damascus missed some of its opportunities from the charity stripe to close the period. Walter Johnson earned the first points of the second half, getting a second chance bucket off an odd-man fast break. Just a minute later, the game was tied at 30 apiece after a hook shot from Jake Forburger. The next three minutes were almost completely dominated by Damascus. The Wildcats simply became stagnant on offense and had trouble breaking apart the Hornets’ half court zone. In all, it was a 6-0 run for the away squad. But by the end of the third quarter, things were knotted once more at 39 apiece — the Wildcats had found another way to battle back. But they simply couldn’t compete with Damascus’ 19-point fourth frame. Incredibly, it took over two minutes into the quarter before either team notched a point — the first came from a Tony DeStefano paint shot. But Jayden Thompson spinning layup soon tied things with just over five minutes left. So what separated the Hornets? A rapid 5-0 run ensued over the following minute, while the Wildcats’ outside shooting struggles and missed layups handicapped them. An Ethan Ray spinning layup with three minutes left to play nearly sealed the game for Hornets — the dagger felt like it was soon to come. But Walter Johnson’s defense suddenly came alive, rejecting Damascus layups that had easily gone through the net earlier in the game. A Thompson fast break layup cut the Hornets’ lead down to two with 1:41 left to play. It was ultimately Ray that delivered on Damascus’ game-sealing buckets; a midrange fadeaway and a heavily-contested reverse layup under the hoop. The Hornets will look to take the momentum from Friday’s win into their Tuesday contest against 2-9 Northwood.