Cougars Too Much for Falls Church

For four periods Tuesday night, Falls Church High senior guard Sachin Gangele threw his body on the floor and jumped for rebounds against visiting Oakton High, leaving nothing on the floor.

But Gangele’s efforts weren’t enough as the Jaguars fell to Oakton 42-28, falling to a 1-4 record on the season.

“They definitely came out more physical than us,” said Gangele, who led the Jaguars with 11 points.

The two teams scratched and fought throughout the first two periods before Oakton started to pull away in the third. The Jaguars refused to go away early in the game, diving for loose balls and fighting for rebounds to stay within two points at the half.

Often yelling out defensive and offensive plays from his bench — and often turning redder than his team’s uniforms — Oakton head coach David Brooks said he wasn’t completely happy with his team’s performance in the paint. He said his team didn’t rebound the way he had wanted them to and didn’t control the ball how he envisioned they should. The Cougars host West Potomac High Friday night and Brooks said he needs his team to be ready mentally for the game.

“We’re a young basketball team,” Brooks said. “There are going to be some growing pains.”

For the Jaguars, who only have one underclassman on their varsity roster, open and contested shots alike did not fall for them. Gangele said the Jaguars can rebound from a night like they had if they communicate on the court more and increase their intensity. If they communicate more, he said the shots will come.

“We just couldn’t make a shot,” Gangele said. “It looked like they were going down but didn’t.”

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Gangele led the Jaguars in scoring with 11 points. Guards Osman Barre and Tyler Satorius scored 5 points each.

In the girls varsity matchup between Oakton and Falls Church, the Cougars beat the Jaguars 74-16.