In the fourth quarter of the boys varsity basketball game against the McLean School, the Mustangs were in the lead 49-48. The atmosphere of the Lions’ Den was tense until junior and captain Cyrus Blumenthal made a shot, propelling the Lions to a lead they never lost. In the end, after a close game, the Lions defeated the Mustangs 53-49 on Jan. 15.
Coming off a five-point loss against the Sandy Spring Friends School, head coach Ryan Eskow said he was anticipating a close game against the Mustangs since both teams were similarly ranked in the PVAC.
“We’re fighting for a position in the playoffs,” Eskow said. “And, in every season, you’ve got to figure out you got to win tight games.”
The Mustangs opened the game by scoring two points, establishing an early lead. With a three-pointer by sophomore Dylan Shank and consecutive shots by junior Matty Stillman, the Lions tied the game 7-7. After multiple fouls, man-on-man defense, and a layup by the Mustangs, Blumenthal re-tied the game 13-13 with two three-pointers at the end of the first quarter.
To start the second quarter, Blumenthal gave the Lions their first lead of the night with another three-pointer. The two teams traded the lead back and forth, but junior and captain Micah Goldrich’s three-point buzzer-beater gave the Lions a lead of 29-20 at the end of the second quarter.
“It was an intense, really physical game,” Shank said. “They were pushing a lot more than we were.”
Early in the third quarter, the Lions led by a comfortable margin, but the Mustangs began to whittle away at their lead. As Goldrich leapt to shoot, a McLean player fouled him, knocking him onto the ground. After Goldrich was attended to, junior Caden Mont made a free throw in his place, but he eventually returned to play later.
Goldrich said that he tried to stay focused on the end result during the game, despite noting the size difference between them and their competitors.
“We were obviously much smaller than them,” Goldrich said. “And a lesson [we got from that] is to just box out and really play tough.”
The Mustangs scored 16 points during the third quarter, including a dunk by senior Thomas Nriayo, keeping the Lions on their toes.
During the final quarter, the Mustangs played aggressively, trying to clinch a win, and eventually retook the lead 46-44 until Lipsky made a shot to re-tie the game. After being fouled, Nriayo, the top scorer of the game, made a free throw, giving the Mustangs a lead of 49-48 and himself a total of 23 points during the game.
With his final shot, Blumenthal took the lead for the Lions 51-49, making him the Lions’ top scorer with 22 points. To cement their win, Shank made a shot and Goldrich got a free throw, giving the Lions the victory.
“I think you learn a lot when you play tight games. And yesterday, we didn’t know how to win a tight game, and today we did,” Eskow said.