South Lakes’ Reign As State Champion Ends With 49-48 Loss To Chantilly

By BRIAN McNICOLL

South Lakes High’s two-year reign as champions of Virginia’s highest classification came to an end on Monday night at South Lakes.

Sophomore Joshua Dagbe took a feed from senior Makhai Ramos, knifed in from the left and put up a contested layup that didn’t fall in the game’s final seconds, and the Seahawks fell 49-48 to Chantilly in the first round of the Concorde District tournament.

South Lakes, which won the Class 6 title the last two years, finished fourth in the Concorde this year and ended its season with a 10-14 record – the first losing campaign in Coach Mike Desmond’s seven years at the school.

Chantilly, now 6-21, will take on top-seeded Westfield (22-1) in the Concorde semifinals. Chantilly also will play in the Region 6B tournament next week.

The game followed a familiar pattern for the Seahawks. They fell behind early, scrapped to keep it close but couldn’t overcome. It was 6-0 before South Lakes scored and 10-1 four minutes into the game.

“I told them before the game to be ready to play hard from the first whistle,” said Desmond, whose team suffered two painful losses to his alma mater in the last 10 days of the season. “It took us too long to wake up.”

Indeed, every time South Lakes got close, Chantilly pulled away again. The Seahawks were back within 17-14 in the second quarter, but the Chargers responded with a 10-2 run and led 27-20 at halftime.

South Lakes got back to within 30-28 in the third quarter, only to have Chantilly score two quick buckets on turnovers and pull away again.

“How many times did we come back only to have turnovers that let them build up their lead again?” Desmond asked after the game. “We just couldn’t quite get there.”

South Lakes finally tied the game at 48-48 with 45 seconds left on a basket by Brady Theis, who played his final game of a decorated South Lakes career.

But Makhai Ramos, also a senior, fouled senior Daniel Yi, with 33 seconds left, and he made one of two for a 49-48 lead.

Both teams had turnovers after that, and South Lakes ended up with the ball with about 11 seconds left. They had been driving and dishing against Chantilly’s 1-3-1 zone defense, with Theis, Ramos and junior Jayden Edwards (career-high 15 points) getting baskets inside. So Ramos drove again and saw Dagbe in the middle of the lane.

Dagbe, who scored two points in the game, darted to his left and tried to bank in a shot from the left side. It hit the rim and fell short, and the teams were scrambling for the rebound when time ran out.

“We were trying to get downhill, and I was like ‘if you see a play, make a play.’ so I did.” said Ramos, a first-team all-district selection who led the Seahawks with 17 points. “But it didn’t go. Next year for them.”

Said Theis, who made the second team all-league squad, “I think it was a good shot. Josh found a lane, and … “ it hitting him that his high school career was over … “it was a good shot. But it wasn’t that shot. It wasn’t the referees. It was a lot of things over time.”

Desmond said he made clear to his underclassmen that no jobs are safe going into next season, that all must improve or risk losing their place on the team. “We have to commit in the offseason. We have to put in the work. That didn’t happen this year, and shame on me for not making it happen. But we’re putting in the work this year. Count on that.”