Marriotts Ridge boys basketball was taken out of its game.
The Mustangs have a wealth of shooting at all five positions and pride themselves on everyone touching the ball each possession. They played true to themselves at the outset, building an 11-point lead after one quarter. However, Atholton’s relentless press and backcourt pressure took the Mustangs out of rhythm and out of their ideal offensive flow.
Trailing by one at half, the Mustangs used that eight-minute break to reset and regain their offensive identity. It enabled them to pull away late in the fourth quarter of a 71-61 win.
“One thing we always preach is when your man leaves to double team, you’ve got follow your man and be the release,” Marriotts Ridge coach Seth Willingham said. “We were standing and there was too far of a pass. The [passes] were getting stolen or thrown into the front row. That was one thing we adjusted and then two, just having another guard back behind to support that double team. They were speeding us up. We had to adjust and start playing the pace that we’re comfortable with, instead of playing at their pace.”
That turnaround all started with senior guard Restia Whitaker. The Mustangs’ primary ballhandler and leading scorer was limited to just six first-half points. Atholton hounded him with quick and athletic defenders, and as the turnovers mounted and so did Atholton’s comeback. However, Willingham and Whitaker shared a halftime conversation, and the veteran leader turned it around.
He scored 17 points in the second half, including nine points in the fourth quarter, completing a game-high 23-point effort. Whitaker’s effectiveness down the stretch helped Marriotts Ridge (5-3) gain the separation it needed.
“It was just about trusting my teammates,” Whitaker said. “At times, I started rushing, started trying to play outside of my game because they were speeding me up. I trusted people like Aaron Hammann, Rahul Jampan, my whole team. They put their faith in me and I’m glad I could get the win for them. Once I settled down, it slowed the game down. My teammates were able to get open looks and it started flowing.”
Marriotts Ridge’s early offensive success came off dribble penetration. The Mustangs knocked down seven of their 11 3-pointers in the opening 16 minutes thanks to spacing out and stretching the floor. Meanwhile, Atholton (5-3) struggled from behind the arc all night, finishing without a 3-pointer. Much of their first-half offense was generated off second-chance points or attacking the basket. Guards Isaiah Johnson and Cam Lyons spearheaded that success, feeding off of their persistent defensive effort.
With their contrasting styles, the teams entered the fourth quarter tied at 51. While Marriotts Ridge connected on timely baskets, it leaned on its defense in the final eight minutes. The Mustangs have been working to improve on the defensive end and took a step forward in that area in the fourth, limiting Atholton to just two fourth-quarter field goals.
“The biggest difference in the fourth was our intensity,” Hammann said. “We set that up on defense. We got into a zone that sped them up a little bit and they took some bad shots. We got rebounds. We shot well and played together.”
That growth coincided with another point of emphasis from Willingham: keeping the Raiders off the glass. Atholton’s second-chance opportunities diminished in the final quarter as it began settling for perimeter jumpers. Whitaker’s biggest shot of the night was the Mustangs’ final triple. He made a contested 3-pointer late in the shot clock that pushed the lead to five with 3:04 remaining. Free throws from Blake Willingham, Hammann and Jampan shut the door from there.
MR- 19 14 18 20- 71
A- 8 26 17 10- 61
MR: Restia Whitaker 23, Aaron Hammann 14, Rahul Jampan 14, Blake Willingham 10, George Klaus 8, Ellis O’Brien 2.
A: Cam Lyons 20, Isaiah Johnson 18, Bryce Inabinet 17, Ian Pope Jr 4, Demarcus Lamot 2.
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