By Phil Murphy
Senior Multimedia/Content Manger, Washington D.C. Metro Area
*Click the links above for videos and photos from Tuesday’s championship game.
*All-Tournament team listed below.
Ubiquitous frustration was embodied down the Chantilly bench during the final moments of the Pohanka Chantilly Basketball Tournament on Tuesday.
The team trailed Landon (Bethesda, Md.) in what proved a 70-62 loss in front of a capacity home crowd.
The hosts shot under 28-percent from the field, sophomore center John Manning was plagued by foul trouble and faced constant double teams in the post and the Chargers never led in the second half.
But despite the palpable depression, Chantilly’s bench — which produced two of its three double-digit scorers, including senior guard Hinga Wuya (team-high 16 points) — provided a flicker of optimism in the Chargers’ first loss of the season.
“Our bench has been good for us all year,” said Chantilly Coach Jim Smith, who beat Landon, 94-86, in last year’s final. “Hinga came in and really gave us a spark, played with a lot of energy, hit a couple shots. I thought Matt Howerton did the same thing. He came in, ran the floor well and made some plays, scored around the bucket.
“And then Shane Gaboury came in off the bench and worked hard … Our bench has been really good for us this year.”
The aforementioned Howerton was one of two Chargers named to the All-Tournament team, joining Manning.
Howerton’s presence in the post was pivotal in Chantilly’s efforts to limit Landon lead until steady free-throw shooting stretched the Bears’ margin in the final minutes.
“It happens more than you’d think,” said Smith of the All-Tournament nomination for substitute Howerton. “I know we had Josh Stark a few years ago. We always play a lot of guys here. Our bench players are important. If a guy’s having a good night, he’s going to get the run of it. Matt and Hinga really got a lot of minutes tonight and they took advantage of that.
“You know, if they keep playing like that and they keep practicing, who knows? Maybe we make changes and they’re starting before you know it.”
Almost as consistent as the Chargers’ rotation of its bench was its changing coverage of Bear senior guard Christian Webster.
Webster, interested in a handful of ACC and Big East schools, won the Tournament MVP for the second consecutive season, scoring 85 points over the three games. He had 28 points, 11 rebounds and 6 assists in the final.
“He’s as good as anybody in our region,” said Smith. “He’s a big, strong guard. He’s a match-up nightmare. If he was in the Northern Region, he’s a first-team All-Region player.
“I think we did a reasonable job on him. He worked for everything.”
Meanwhile, Chantilly’s main source of offense, senior guard Justin May, played limited minutes in the first half and received significant attention during his trips to the bench.
The All-Region guard — and All-Tournament nominee from last year — was held to 3-for-13 shooting from the field, including 0-for-5 from three-point range.
“He’s struggling right now physically,” Smith said of May. “He’s not himself. He’s been having leg problems, hamstring problems and different things. He’s not, right now, as explosive as he’s been.
“He’s got a couple of nagging things. We’re going to give him a couple days off. Hopefully, when we get back into district play, he’ll be a little bit sprier.”
Email: pmurphy@digitalsports.com
Landon 16 18 12 26 — 72
Chantilly 15 17 10 18 — 60
Landon — Webster 7 12-14 28; Atkins 5 1-4 11; McDonald 4 2-2 11; Rubin 4 1-2 10; Wellington 1 5-6 8; Matthews 2 0-2 4; Kight 0 0-3 0. Team totals: 23 21-33 72.
Chantilly — Wuya 5 3-4 16; Manning 2 8-9 12; Howerton 4 2-4 10; May 3 1-2 7; DeWitt 2 0-2 5; Savage 1 2-3 4; Weigand 1 2-2 4; Bellam 1 0-0 2. Team totals: 19 18-26 60.
Three pointers — Landon 5 (Webster 2, McDonald, Rubin, Wellington); Chantilly 4 (Wuya 3, DeWitt).
All-Tournament Team
Christian Webster, Landon, Sr. (MVP)
Darion Atkins, Landon, So.
Antonio Butler, South County, Jr.
John Manning, Chantilly, So.
Matt Howerton, Chantilly, Jr.
Danny Rubin, Landon, Jr.
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