Osbourn Park Hangs On to Beat Woodbridge, 72-70

Osbourn Park hangs on to beat Woodbridge, 72-70.

Fresh off a thrilling win against rival Stonewall Jackson earlier this week, Osbourn Park looked to improve their record to 4-8.

Meanwhile, the Vikings of Woodbridge have been in a mid-season funk, losing 6 in a row and 12 of 14 overall. Both teams showed a lot of heart and drive in this game despite their disappointing season records.

This game was fast-paced from the get-go and each team tried to get most of their points in transition. The teams were locked into a 16-16 tie after the first quarter.

The next quarter belonged to Osbourn Park as their ball-hawking full-court defense forced several of turnovers by Woodbridge. 

Point guard, Justin Carolina, was the main defensive factor and beneficiary of opposing team's turnovers, converting many of his five steals into easy lay-ups. The Vikings defense allowed the Yellow Jackets to finally gain the first significant lead of the game as they took a half-time lead of 36-29.

Woodbridge coach Chad Anderson kept the team's 6-7 center, Tom Maksanty on the bench even though Osbourn Park forward Brandon Jenkins was absolutely dominating the offensive and defensive glass.

Maksanty didn't help his case any, as he quickly racked up fouls when he did see playing time. The rebounding advantage helped the Yellow Jackets keep their lead through the 3rd quarter with many second chance buckets.

Overall, the Yellow Jackets out-rebounded the Vikings 38-25. 

In the 4th quarter, a player finally emerged from the Vikings roster to try and win the game. Junior shooting guard, Darius Parson used his tremendous strength to show why he was a star running-back for the Vikings and bully his way into the paint for some easy baskets. He also showed off a great shooting stroke with some deep, off-balanced three point shots, connecting on two in the final quarter. Parson had 15 of his teams 25 points in the final quarter to bring his team to within 2 points of the lead. 

Unfortunately, it wasn't enough for the Vikings as Osbourn Park held onto the lead and won, 72-70.

The Yellow Jackets were led on offense  by Jenkins who ended the game with 21 points and 16 rebounds, his 2nd double-double in three games.

Also contributing was defensive ace Justin Carolina, who finished the game with 17 points, five steals and an impressive five rebounds for his 5'7" frame.

Cameron Smith had an efficient night, ending up with 10 points. Anthony Mattox and Neil Rosenberg provided spark off the bench as the two combined for 15 points and 12 rebounds. Starting forward Garrett Smith, who played extremely limited minutes due to foul trouble, was missing from the box-score. Smith fouled out in the 4th quarter.

The Vikings were led by Parson who finished with a game-high 28 points and a team-high 9 rebounds. Junior guard, Yapheth Emiru scored 12 points and grabbed five rebounds. Point guard, Malik Williams connected on two three-point shots and finished with six points and  four assists.

The team as a whole out-shot Osbourn Park from downtown, totalling six three-pointers to Osbourn Park's one. Off the bench for the Vikings, Barba Kargbo, had 13 points. 

Osbourn Park's coach Bob Lake  said, "It's a win. A win against Woodbridge who beat us to end last season. But we're young and for our young kids, this was development. I thought the young kids played extremely well." 

Woodbridge looks to end their  7-game losing streak next Tuesday against Hylton at home. Osbourn Park, now riding a 2-game wining streak, looks to improve their record to 5-8 against a struggling Freedom team on the road next Tuesday.