Madison Basketball

Madison Hits Inside, Outside
By B.J. Koubaroulis
Special to The Washington Post
Saturday, January 5, 2008; E06

With 38 seconds left in the third quarter of Madison's 64-54 victory over visiting South Lakes last night, Warhawks senior forward Collin Flaherty had a short shot in the paint swatted away by two defenders.

Madison junior guard Omi Ogolo was stationed at the perfect place, however, to reel in the rejection and make a high-arcing three-pointer that put Madison up 44-30.

The series of events typified Madison's diverse attack, which scored 18 points in the paint to take a 33-16 lead into halftime and then relied on Ogolo's slashing and jump-shooting to close out the second half.

"I love having a strong inside presence," said Ogolo, a 6-foot guard who scored nine of his 19 points in the second half. "It gives me a lot of open shots. Our post is a dominating force."

Flaherty scored 21 points and added 12 rebounds to help Madison (9-1, 2-0 Liberty District) win its fourth straight. South Lakes (8-2, 1-1) had its eight-game win streak halted.

"If we establish the game inside first, that opens up the offense for the rest of the game," said Flaherty, a 6-3 forward who is the smallest of Madison's post players.

The Warhawks also got 15 points -- mostly on inside post moves -- from seniors Scott LeDuc, Todd Crissey and junior Will Clarkson -- all 6-5 forwards.

"When you play a team, you try to take away what they try to do," Madison Coach Chris Kuhblank said. "I feel like we can hit you both ways, inside and out."

Madison hit hard early and closed the first quarter on an 8-2 run for a 19-10 lead. It outscored the Seahawks 14-6 in the second quarter to build a 17-point lead by halftime.

South Lakes senior A.J. Price (nine points) and junior guard Thomas Mayo (12 points) combined for 12 points in the fourth quarter to cut the Warhawks' lead to six with less than two minutes left. Madison shot 9 of 14 from the free throw line to squelch the Seahawks' late rally.

Madison 64 South Lakes 54

Write It Up: On a dry-erase board in his office, Madison Coach Chris Kuhblank had the dates and scores of every South Lakes-Madison game he's coached. Kuhblank, who said he was hired specifically to beat South Lakes, has a 6-3 record against the Seahawks.

Flashback: Boston College football and baseball player Johnny Ayers and UMBC baseball player Rich Conlon -- both former Madison basketball players -- practiced with Madison on Thursday.