Jaguars’ Second-Half Comeback Falls Short

With the season on the line, the Falls Church boys varsity basketball team made a furious second-half comeback in their Northern Region tournament opener.

But their efforts fell just short, losing to the South Lakes Seahawks 61-53 Monday night.

Senior guard Romeo Kc scored 12 of his 14 points in the third quarter to give the Jaguars a brief lead before it slipped away down the stretch.

“It was all the seniors leading us,” Jaguars coach T.C. Papageorge said. “They’ve been with us for four years and they put us on their backs and led us.”

Nizar Alamin led the attack for the visitors throughout the game with 22 points, keeping pace with the Seahawks from the start. He continually attacked the Seahawks, displaying an array of skills by driving to the hoop for layups and hitting outside jump shots. South Lakes had a difficult time keeping Alamin from scoring, something his coach has seen since he began at Falls Church High.

“He’s capable of doing that every single night and he’s our leader,” Papageorge said. “It doesn’t surprise me because that’s what he’s been doing his whole career.”

Falls Church kept the pressure on South Lakes, hitting a near-half court 3-pointer to get within six points at halftime and bring some momentum heading into the second half.

In the third quarter, Falls Church continued to stop the Seahawks defensively and was able to capitalize on the offensive end, as well. Kc was the catalyst for the visitors after the break, scoring five straight points with less than two minutes remaining in the quarter to give his team their first lead of the game, 41-40, which was quickly followed by a timeout from South Lakes coach Andrew Duggan.

“We knew that they could make a run at any time,” Duggan said. “They’re a pretty good team, well-coached, that was able to execute their stuff.”

They executed to perfection in the third quarter to erase a nine-point first-half deficit and give themselves a chance to keep their season alive.

Junior forward Sachin Gangele did the work in the post to battle for offensive rebounds which helped give Kc and Alamin extra opportunities to score.

The visitors were able to hold off the Seahawks during the early stages of the fourth quarter, but eventually succumbed to the toughness of junior forward DJ Christian, who scored a game-high 30 points for South Lakes.