Mount Vernon Basketball

Supporting Cast Gives Majors Lift in Shootout
By B.J. Koubaroulis
Special to The Washington Post
Wednesday, January 30, 2008; E09

Mount Vernon's Marquel De Lancey and Edison's Kendall Wallace each scored 30 points in the Majors' 71-69 boys' basketball victory at Edison last night.

De Lancey, an Old Dominion-bound senior guard, and the 6-foot-2 Wallace entered the game ranked first and second in the National District in scoring, respectively, but contributions from the Majors' supporting cast helped decide the game.

In addition to De Lancey's scoring, Mount Vernon's Skylar Jones scored 10 points and hauled in 11 rebounds to help the Majors (11-6, 7-1) win their third straight.

Mount Vernon took over sole possession of first place as Yorktown (9-8, 6-2) lost, 47-44, to Washington-Lee (1-16, 1-7) last night.

Edison (8-9, 4-3) had its winning streak stopped at three.

"We are getting a lot of contributions from different guys in different ways," Mount Vernon Coach Alfonso Smith said. "We have a lot of guys that can score. The thing we've been trying to emphasize is defense."

Mount Vernon is scoring 70.7 points per game, second in the Virginia AAA Northern Region behind Annandale (74.8) and 11th in the area.

It was the Majors' second victory over the Eagles this season, a rare sweep in a National District race that has traditionally been a top-heavy battle between Mount Vernon, Edison, Wakefield and Yorktown.

De Lancey scored 19 points in a 78-54 victory over the Eagles on Jan. 4, and Mount Vernon has since won six of eight games to take control of the National District.

De Lancey was 11 of 20 from the free throw line last night.

"He shot the ball very confidently," Smith said. "I know everyone knows him as someone who attacks the basket, but he was making a few jumpers tonight. When he's shooting with confidence, it's hard to stop him."