BEARS 52 SSSA 48

The Landon students arrived in their best Rehoboth garb with surfer shorts, Tommy Bahamas shirts and Aloha leis, expecting a day at the beach.

 Darion Atkins senior, headed to UVa next year, changed the game into a block party by swatting away at least 9 of the visitors shots. Saints’ Coach McLinton, a dual football and hoops star at Maryland, got his charges back from a 20 point deficit down to a 4 point margin.His SSSA players defended with a very aggressive zone to deny the ball to the Bears’ Darion Atkins and Joe McDonald.

Landon 2009 grad Christian Webster in town for his Harvard BB team against George Washington, attended the game and his relaxed posture in the stands signified his confidence that his Bears would win. Christian , accompanied by a fellow Crimson player Brandon Curry(?)

The Saints came out in an aggressive zone which restrained the Bears’ offense and allowed the visitors to lead until less than a minute left in the first period. Darion Atkins was inhospitable to the visitors by swatting away 6 SSSA shots in this 1st period. Landon Coach Andy Luther helped the Bear Offense solve the Saints zone with two three’s by Joe McDonald and a hoop by Chris Hudnut brought this initial eight minute period to a Landon 10 SSSA 6. The second and third periods continued the theme of Darion’s and his fellow players defending the visitors. The 6’8″ UVa recruit had two more blocks and a nice dunk. With his teammates, the Landon D shut out the Saints for two separate three minute periods. Deion Wellington, Kellen Miller added key points over this span. Halftime the Bears led 26-12 and at the end of the 3rd Q, Landon 40 SSSA 20. For the last eight minutes, Coach Luther gave his starters some rest (the Bears play another team in Alexandria tomorrow, #5 Episcopal High School). Isaiah Colclough, Max Kra, Milan Bhatt, Robert Leachman, Tim Hetterman and a few starter minutes filled the scorebook during this last stanza. Final score Landon 52 SSSA 48 LANDON SCORING JOE MCDONALD 14 CHRIS HUDNUT 12 DARION ATKINS 8 KELLEN MILLER 8 DEION WELLINGTON 7 MAX KRA 3 #3 LANDON @ #5 EPISCOPAL 1/15 AT 6PM