Stallions Finish Regular Season on High Note, Beat Lee 59-39

If there was ever a South County basketball player who was going to score all 15 of his points via the 3-pointer and miss all of his shots in the paint, including a breakaway dunk, it would be a pretty safe bet that that player was not Nik Biberaj.

That’s exactly what happened on Friday though, as Biberaj and the Stallions locked themselves into the 4-5 matchup of the Patriot District playoffs with Woodson with a 59-39 win over Lee.

Dominique McNeal, who had scored a total of 17 points while seeing limited action in just 12 games this season, made the most of his senior night opportunity and added 11 points.

Even after Wendell Johnson began rotating in his usual starting lineup just before halftime, Lee was able to stick around. The Lancers cut the score to 28-22 with about three minutes remaining in the third quarter after trailing by 10 at the half. Johnson displayed his confidence in his team by not calling a timeout, and two minutes into the fourth quarter, the lead was back to 22.

“Lee was smart and they were trying to slow it down and take possessions away, and then we turned up the pressure a little bit more on defense and we were able to get some steals and do what we wanted, and we knew we had to do that,” Johnson said.

While it might be a bit premature to anoint Lee freshman Patrick Moseh with “phenom” status, the ninth-grader has certainly showed glimpses of great potential in the last week. He’s averaged 16.7 points over his last three games, a span in which he’s also hit six 3-pointers, including one against the Stallions. His best effort was for 23 points against one of the region's best teams in T.C. Williams. He finished with 17 points on Friday, and made six of seven free throws after shooting below 50 percent on the season.

The loss ends one of Lee’s worst seasons ever. The Lancers were outscored in every game, earning their only victory against Oakton after the Cougars forfeited all of their wins due to an ineligible player. All but one loss was by double-digits for a team just two years removed from a regional semifinal appearance.

South County’s hopes against Woodson on Tuesday will hinge largely on Biberaj’s play at both ends of the court. He had his worst offensive outputs of the season in his last two games – three and seven points in losses to T.C. Williams and Lake Braddock. Against the Cavaliers, he faces off against one of the only other big men in the region who is also a threat from behind the arc in Jon Schoof.

The game should be one of the most competitive first-round matchups in the region, as the Stallions and Cavaliers split the regular season series with each team winning at home. Schoof, who will certainly be a candidate for Northern Region Player of the Year, turned in big performances in each game, going for 24 points in Woodson’s win and 18 in the loss. He got to the free-throw line a combined 13 times.

“We need to make sure we get our post guys to help our guards out when John comes off screens, and get up in John’s face and make it difficult for him,” Johnson said of his gameplan for defending Schoof.

While they’ll have to take on Woodson on the road, the Stallions are certainly pleased to be in the position they're in after an 0-4 start in the district.

“We’ve had a couple streaks this year,” said Johnson. “We’re starting to come back in the right in the right direction.”