South County Boys Win Season Opener

In a game where neither team led by more than four points going into the fourth quarter, the South County Stallions found a way to outscore the Woodbridge Vikings, winning 71-59.

The Stallions outhustled the Vikings in the fourth quarter and it showed to the tune of 27-11 margin in their favor after finding themselves down 48-44 at the start of the stanza.

South County Coach Wendell Johnson switched to a full-court press at the start of the fourth quarter, and it was exactly what the Stallions needed to win the game.

"Our guys stepped up our defense a little bit more," Johnson said. "And they missed some shots down the end, and our guys hit our shots."

Nowhere was the energy more evident for South County than in senior Nik Biberaj and junior Marqueice Johnson. Biberaj and Johnson held down the paint for the Stallions grabbing rebound after rebound and playing solid defense.

Biberaj finished with 23 points, shooting seven of 10 from the free throw line and adding two three-pointers. Biberaj also grabbed key rebounds and drew two charging calls in the fourth quarter.

"Every charge helps," Biberaj said. "We played hard and all hustled."

Biberaj's partner down low, the 6'3 Johnson played gritty and grabbed several offensive rebounds. Johnson finished with 14 points and drew key fouls to put the Vikings in foul trouble. He also had a key block in the fourth quarter that sparked the Stallions' run.

"Our bench helped us out the most with all the hustling mentality," Johnson said. "That block kind of relieved that technical I had [in the third quarter].

Junior Nnamdi Enechionyia had the most impact off the bench, scoring 12 points in the game, with eight points in the fourth quarter. Enechionyia also added a three pointer.

Woodbridge junior Darius Parson led the Vikings with 22 points, hitting 3 three-pointers and going five for six from the line.

[Nik and Marqueice] are an important part of this team," Coach Johnson said. "They're two of our captains, so we have to get the ball inside."

South County will play Mountain View later tonight at 8 p.m. to finish the South County Tipoff Tournament.