Patriots Put Down Highlanders

Yorktown head coach Rich Avila earned his 100th career win as the Patriots won 74-42 over the Mclean Highlanders in the first round of the regional tournament. Yorktown lost to Mclean earlier in the year, but with the higher-stakes and support of the home crowd, the Patriots were able to ride a huge third quarter run to a comfortable victory.  Sharpshooter Daniel Pietropaoli led the Patriots with 15 points, while fellow senior Kevin Bailey tallied one fewer.

“We came in knowing any game could be our last,” Bailey said.  “And, we kept going hard to make sure we wouldn’t go home.”

Senior leader Nicko Esherick got the Patriots going with two tough floaters in the lane, but Mclean quickly responded with a pair of threes over Yorktown’s 2-3 zone.   While the Highlander guards relentlessly pressured the ball, the Patriots looked to an unexpected source of offense: sophomore Nick Yore.  Yore, who is averaging only five points a game, scored six of his 13 in the first quarter.  He also came up big defending in the middle of the zone and crashing the glass.

“Nick is our unsung hero,” Avila said.  “He’s only a sophomore and doesn’t score much, but I’m not sure people realize what he does for our team defending and rebounding the ball.”

Although the teams were even after one quarter of play, the Patriots stepped up in the second.  They put the clamps on the Highlanders defensively, not only contesting every shot, but also pulling down nearly every defensive rebound.  Forced into the one-and-done situation, Mclean struggled offensively, and Yorktown was able to take a 26-21 lead into the break.

In a third quarter that barely resemble the prior half, the Patriots roared out of the gates with a 14-3 run capped off by a monstrous one handed slam by Bailey.  Jack Earley was brilliant as a facilitator, and Pietropaoli and others capitalized on open looks.  To close out a near flawless period, Earley made his way through the Highlanders in transition before dishing a wrap-around pass to Esherick, whose layup beat the buzzer.  The Patriots rallied again to open up the fourth quarter with a 10-0 run, and the game was all but over.

With the win, the Patriots will advance to Northern Virginia’s Elite Eight, where they will face tournament favorite T.C. Williams.  Despite the grandeur of his 100th win and the unique circumstance of playing his alma mater for a chance to return to the regional semi-finals, Avila remains humble and focused on the task at hand.

“I don’t even keep track of that stuff, my daughter does that,” he said.  “I didn’t win any of those games, the players did, so I put the focus on them.”

The Yorktown players are focused as well, “We just need to be true to ourselves,” Earley said.  “We can’t beat them at their game, but we can beat them with ours.” 

That game can be seen at T.C. Williams on Wednesday at 7:30 p.m.