BACK FROM THE BRINK: GW overcomes deficit to win in OT

Bobby Martin walked out of his team’s locker room, took a deep breath and then pretended to keel over.

The George Washington High boys basketball coach was visibly relieved after his team overcame a 10-point deficit with less than three minutes remaining in regulation and rallied for a 67-58 overtime victory over Mountain View Tuesday night in a Northwest Region quarterfinal game in Danville.

“There’s no quit in those guys,” Martin said. “Some of them have blood on them. It’s playoff time. A lot of these young guys don’t understand, playoffs are another level. They just haven’t been through it.”

GW (21-3), the top seed from the Western Valley District, trailed the entire way and faced a 53-43 deficit before C.J. Barksdale scored on a putback with 2:25 to go. That triggered a 13-0 run in a 1:50 span, which included a pair of 3-pointers from junior guard Darius Carter. Mountain View (16-8), seeded second in the Commonwealth District, pulled even on a 3-pointer by Daniel Mosley with 18 seconds left. GW’s Greg Wimbush missed a jumper with two seconds remaining and the game went to overtime.

The Eagles completely dominated the extra session, scoring 11 straight points to seize control. Stephen Coles put GW ahead to stay with a layup, then Wimbush stole the ball and drove for a layup. Over the final 1:49, Wimbush converted four free throws and Jerail Howerton made three before Mosley scored on a layup as the buzzer sounded.

Mountain View hit seven 3-pointers in the first half and took a 29-20 lead into the intermission. Derek Mosley drilled five of those, while Daniel Mosley and Dajon Daniel each had one.

“We went over everything before the game, yesterday in practice, but sometimes seeing is believing,” Martin said. “We went over our gameplan; we just didn’t do it. It came down to halftime, we made some adjustments.”

GW’s front line of C.J. Barksdale and Stephen Coles, who combined for just five points in the first half, kept the Eagles within striking distance in the third period, scoring six points apiece. But Derek Mosley knocked down a 3-pointer at the buzzer, giving the Wildcats a 40-32 advantage heading into the final period.

The Eagles closed to within five on two occasions early in the fourth quarter, but consecutive layups by Daniel staked the Wildcats to a 53-43 lead. From that point, GW outscored Mountain View 24-5.

GW will host C.D. Hylton, a 64-63 winner over Fauquier, at 7 p.m. Thursday in the regional semifinals. Tickets are $6 and can be purchased in the
auditorium between 10-11 a.m. on Thursday.