Churchill Makes Division Champ

After a 32 year drought, earned a long-awaited division championship in 2010-11. The seven juniors on that team (now seniors) enjoyed that feeling so much they weren't about to let even a year go by without winning another division title.

As a result, the Bulldogs' boys basketball team, now riding a seven game winning streak, clinched the Montgomery County 4A South division crown with a hard-fought 49-41 win over Richard Montgomery on Monday night.

The victory was the Bulldogs’ 11th win in their last 12 games as they improved to 8-1 in the Montgomery County 4A South Division, two games ahead of Walter Johnson with one division game to play against the second-place Wildcats on Wednesday night at Churchill. The Bulldogs (13-3 overall) also remained undefeated on the road (7-0).

The host Rockets (3-6, 8-8) right from the tip-off appeared prepared and determined to deny Churchill the chance to win the division again.

“Richard Montgomery definitely came after us,” said Churchill head coach Matt Miller. “They had a solid game plan and did a great job defending us, especially around the basket and at the rim.”

Struggling to get baskets inside, the Bulldogs looked outside down the stretch to pull away from the upset-minded Rockets. With the visitors leading 41-39, junior guard Dominique Williams (11 points) connected on a three-point basket to extend the lead to 44-39 with 2:42 left in the game. After two free throws from Richard Montgomery’s Justin Senou cut the lead to 45-41 with a 1:05 remaining, Churchill sealed the win with a pair of free throws each from senior guard Sam Edens (11 points) and senior forward Kyle Edwards.

With baskets hard to come by, the Bulldogs relied mainly on its stingy defense to hold off the Rockets. The Bulldogs forced 21 turnovers, led by Williams, Edens, and sophomore guard Malik Harris, each of whom collected three steals.
Harris was one of several Bulldogs providing solid performances off the bench. He also scored four points while senior center Quan Gill added seven points to go with four offensive rebounds. Sophomore guard Allen Njumbe collected three points.

“It’s great to be able to get a lift from the guys on the bench in such a close and important division game,” Miller said. “Many of our seniors are three-year varsity players so hopefully they know that what happens in late-February and early-March is what is important and they begin to have some urgency about that as this is their last shot."