MoCo360 Sports: Whitman staves off late surge from Richard Montgomery

Bethesda’s Vikings leaves Rockville’s Rockets victorious in a game that came down to the final seconds

January 31, 2024 3:39 p.m.

In the final seconds of the first quarter and Whitman trailing by seven to a Richard Montgomery offense scoring with ease, Vikings guard Thomas Farrell let go of a three just before the buzzer.

The sound of Farrell’s third triple of the quarter falling through the basket as the buzzer sounded cut Richard Montgomery’s lead to four and stole a glimpse of momentum for Whitman.

Still, the Vikings were unable to capture a lead until late in the third quarter.

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In the fourth, Whitman, from Bethesda, extended the lead to double-digits and seemed set to cruise for a victory. It was then the Rockets, from Rockville, found their first quarter form, slicing the lead to a single point with a minute left.

With 13.9 seconds left, Richard Montgomery called a timeout down three.

“We were telling guys to switch everything, just make sure you don’t lunge out at shooters, but just contest everything,” said Whitman Head Coach Chris Lun.

The Rockets got multiple shots off, however all were accompanied by a Whitman defender attempting to increase the difficulty.

When the final buzzer aired through Richard Montgomery High School the Viking players cheered partly in jubilee, and partly in relief. In a game where a pair of explosive offenses showcased their firepower, combining for 20 3-pointers, Whitman escaped with a 74-71 victory.

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I think whenever we play Richard Montgomery, it’s always a competitive game,” said Lun. “Our style this year, we like to push, we like to shoot a lot of threes, and it’s worked out for us.”

The obvious beneficiaries of Whitman’s fast paced, shooting heavy style are Farrell and Hayden Walsh, the team’s two leading scorers. On Tuesday, the pair combined for nine 3-pointers and 34 points.

In recent games, the team’s prowess from distance has opened up opportunities for junior Evan Brown.

Whitman’s Evan Brown taking a free throw Jan. 30 against Richard Montgomery. Credit: Shaun Chornobroff

“Since we have a lot of shooters, a lot of people help on them and it creates space for me to drive,” said Brown.

For most of the season, Brown has averaged around 10 points per game, but this week will surely boost that number. 

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After scoring 24 points in a victory over Sherwood on Monday, Brown followed that performance with 27 points on Tuesday, with only one of his baskets being via a triple.

“Two career games back-to-back for him, he stepped up big time,” said Lun. “When you have a good team and you’re trying to beat other good teams, guys need to step up and Evan certainly did that for us tonight.”

With 3:37 remaining in the third quarter, Richard Montgomery was leading 46-43, hanging onto the lead it grabbed in the opening quarter, when Dante Mayo Jr., the team’s leading scorer briefly left the game with an injury.

By the time Mayo returned, the lead had vanished.

“It came at the worst time because we were already faltering,” said Richard Montgomery Head Coach David Breslaw. “We were already tired, we were already losing some creativity with the offense, I think when it came, that’s what the issue was.”

Richard Montgomery Head Coach David Breslaw talking to his team on Jan. 30. Credit: Shaun Chornobroff

With 3:40 remaining, Whitman led 70-59. Mayo was a major contributor in the 12-4 run to end the game, nailing multiple clutch shots to keep the Rockets within range.

Mayo led Richard Montgomery with 23 points in the game.

The Rockets record falls to 10-4 on the season after the defeat. The quartet of losses have all been by single digits, with the difference in Tuesday’s defeat and a game against Blake on Jan. 12 being a single possession.

Whitman sits at 12-2 this campaign, tied with Magruder for the best record in Montgomery County after the victory.

Next three games:

Whitman: vs. Clarksburg (7:15 p.m., Feb. 2) vs. Churchill (7:15 p.m., Feb. 5) @ Walter Johnson (7:15 p.m., Feb. 9)

Richard Montgomery: @ Sherwood (7: 15 p.m., Feb. 2), @ Magruder (6 p.m., Feb. 5), vs. Springbrook (7:15 p.m., Feb. 9)

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