South Lakes ‘Adjusts On the Fly’ To Defeat McLean

By BRIAN McNICOLL

South Lakes High built an early lead with a suffocating man-to-man press, then pulled out a zone defense it hadn’t used since opening night to close it out in a 56-46 victory Monday night at McLean.

The Seahawks, now 5-4, never trailed thanks to a 12-0 first-quarter run fueled by steals from Joshua Dagbe and George Zarechnak to take a 16-4 lead. They forced five turnovers in the first seven minutes of the game and didn’t allow a point for 4 ½ minutes.

Emerson Finney had seven points in the quarter – a corner 3 and two baskets set up by the defense. Dagbe had eight points in the period on his way to a team-high 18 on the night.

The Highlanders, now 2-4, hung around – they trailed by 10 at the half and 11 after three quarters. But in the fourth quarter, they extended their 1-3-1 defense, and it began to produce turnovers.

Two baskets from Jake Bell, a 6-4 senior who scored 23 points for McLean, and two others on assists by Bell got the Highlanders to within 45-43 with 3:57 left.

That’s when the Seahawks went into a zone defense themselves – a long 3-2 trap. Suddenly there were Seahawks in every passing lane and hands up on all the shooters,and the ball began to squirt loose from Highlander ballhandlers.

“We played it early in the season, so we had seen it,” Dagbe said. “We had to adjust on the fly. They adjusted, so we had to respond. We’re a young team, and we’re still learning to communicate. But we did a good job with it.”

The pressure made South Lakes better on the offensive end as well. The thicket inside seemed to clear a bit allowing for drives that moved the defenses and quick passes that exploited the movement.

After the first of four steals in six possessions, senior forward Brady Theis scored inside and drew a foul. Then, after a forced turnover, Dagbe hit a three-pointer, junior forward Jaden Edwards added two baskets inside, and the Seahawks built the lead back to 10.

“[McLean Coach] Mike O’Brien was carving up everything we were throwing at us. That’s why we had to stop trapping his screens. We’re not great at rotating, so we went to the 3-2.”

The Theis basket was crucial in that it took the game out of one-possession range and quieted the crowd.

Dagbe passed below Theis, who then caught a pass in the lane and scored. “I got it in the high post, then I rolled lower and got it again,” said Theis, who finished with eight points and eight rebounds. “But we can do better on defense. Better on rotations. Helping the helpers. We got it in the end, but we can do more.”

Seahawks Coach Mike Desmond said he trusts Theis in tough situations because he knows Theis will give full effort and do his best to follow instructions. “Brady’s fantastic,” Desmond said. “He never questions what we’re doing. He just tries to do it as well as he can.”

Dagbe said the team looks up to Theis. “He’s always been a good leader,” Dagbe said. “He doesn’t mind getting dirty and going up strong. He’s important to us.”

The victory marked a good start to a busy week for South Lakes. The Seahawks travel to Riverside, now 3-6, on Wednesday then play at home against Stone Bridge as part of a girls’/boys’ doubleheader on Friday.

Stone Bridge and Riverside played on Monday night, and Stone Bridge won, 102-101, in overtime. Desmond said the Seahawks can’t let either team score like that if they are to prevail.

“We have to play extraordinarily good defense, because we don’t really score like that,” the coach said. “That’s the challenge to us … to hold those teams down so we can score at their rate.”