Paint Branch High School vs Poolesville High School

Photo courtesy of Poolesville Athletics Instagram. Two 4-1 teams took the court Monday night for a heavyweight bout — and the product didn’t disappoint. Though low scoring, the Falcons ultimately seized the 48-44 victory to improve to 5-1 and tie for fourth in the county standings. The Panthers opened up an early 9-2 lead, thanks to a deep three and some free throw opportunities. Poolesville’s zone defense, combined with Paint Branch’s nifty cutting and quick finishing caught the Falcons off guard. Ryan Bobb hit his stride early for Paint Branch after being a huge factor for the Falcons in the second half of their game against Blake. Bobb was a consistent scorer from both deep and the midrange Monday, and even earned himself a trip to the free throw line early. His efforts accounted for the Panthers’ 17-10 lead at the end of the first quarter. It didn’t take long for the Falcons to get back in the game, however. Poolesville embarked on a rapid 8-0 run to seize the lead, and it was all done inside the arc. But the Panthers didn’t back down from this sudden explosion, using some of its own physicality to assert itself inside. A tough drive and and-one finish capped off a 6-0 run of their own to give them a 24-18 lead. Paint Branch ultimately led 28-25 at the halftime break. Armaan Jain was the catalyst for many of Poolesville’s scores late in the period, asserting himself on drives to the cup and contorting his body around defenders. Jordan Smith tied things immediately coming out of the break with a corner three. But after that, it took over two minutes before the next bucket was scored by either team. Jain potted the next bucket on a fastbreak to give the Falcons their first lead. Poolesville’s aggressive drives weren’t met with much resistance down the stretch — yet, Paint Branch found a way to keep pace. Despite being down 38-30 as the third quarter’s end approached, the Panthers slowly found a way to claw back as time ticked down, hitting multiple free throws. Paint Branch tied the game with four minutes to play, and then cut the score to 42-41 with a clutch and-one bucket with 2:43 left. An extremely timely corner three pushed that advantage to four on the next possession, and that score remained until the final minute. With 15 seconds left, Bobb had some last-second heroics left in him, unleashing a double-covered, fadeaway three that sunk right through the net. But still being down one, Paint Branch was forced to foul. And while Poolesville calmly hit its free throws, Paint Branch ultimately failed to respond, resulting in the loss. Poolesville is next set to take on Clarksburg on Jan 6.