Boys' Basketball Notebook

Denny Provides A Lift for Centreville
By B.J. Koubaroulis
Special to The Washington Post
Thursday, February 7, 2008; VA14

Sophomore Warren Denny scored a career-high 27 points and added 10 rebounds en route to his fifth consecutive double-double to lift Centreville over Herndon, 58-44, on Friday.

It was just the second time Centreville (6-11, 3-6 Virginia AAA Concorde) beat Herndon (10-6, 5-3) since 2001 and the first time since a 53-38 victory over the Hornets on Jan. 28, 2005.
Denny, a 6-foot-2 forward, is averaging 10.5 points and 7.1 rebounds this season.

However, Denny has averaged 19 points and 11 rebounds during a two-week, five-game stretch in which Centreville has posted a 3-2 record and picked up its only district wins.

"He's a great free-throw shooter and that helps when you are active around the basket," Centreville Coach Brian Doyle said.

In Friday's win over Herndon, Denny was 13 of 15 from the free throw line and the Wildcats went on a 23-8 run in the fourth quarter to come back from a 28-17 halftime deficit.

"He's one of those guys that, in addition to having those physical tools, he goes every time and never takes a play off," Doyle said. "He's got a knack for reading the shot and knowing where the rebound is going to be. He's learning to play under control, and his decision making is improving."

Before Friday's victory over Herndon, Denny had 21 points and 11 rebounds in a 74-54 win over Fairfax and 13 and 10 in a 57-45 win over Oakton.

Generals Rebound

Washington-Lee forfeited victories over H.D. Woodson, Falls Church and Jefferson last week for using an ineligible player. The Generals, however, bounced back with a 47-44 victory over Yorktown (10-8, 7-2) on Jan. 29.

Ten Generals scored as the team's leading scorer, Gavin Treweek (15.2 points per game), left the game in the first half due to illness.

The victory moved Washington-Lee (1-17, 1-8) into a tie with Falls Church (1-17, 1-8) at the bottom of the National District standings. Falls Church's only victory was one of the Generals' three forfeits, therefore, the Jaguars held the early tiebreaker heading into the rematch Tuesday at Washington-Lee.

The Virginia High School League denied Washington-Lee's appeal to have its forfeits overturned.
"Our kids were hurt at first, but they understand it and now we just have to move on," Generals Coach Bobby Dobson said. "I feel really good about our team, even though our record is not an indication of how good we are. We are going to surprise some people later on in these games coming up."

Focusing on the Present

Jawuan Lockhart is one of eight juniors slated to come back next season for Flint Hill, which entered this week with 15 wins and with the highest scoring offense (65.7 points per game) in the Mid-Atlantic Conference.

Lockhart, a 6-foot point guard who leads the Huskies in blocks (27), rebounds (90) and assists (104), is just one reason Coach Rico Reed is excited about the future.
But "we don't talk about the future," Reed said.

That's because the Huskies (15-5, 7-2) might have a chance to make an impact this season as they entered the week in second place in the MAC with both of their conference losses to first place Potomac School (15-4, 8-1).

Junior guard Jeremy Glover (15.3 points per game) is the Huskies' leading scorer and one of the MAC's top three-point threats.

The Huskies also have a supporting cast that understands their roles and knows "this is what I can do to help my team," Reed said.

Behind the three-point shooting of junior reserve David Purkert (28-of-52), inside presence of 6-foot-3 junior forward Chris Herlihy (7.7 ppg) and junior O'Connell transfer Doug Howard (9.5 points per game), the Huskies could be poised to make a run in the upcoming MAC tournament.

"This is not a sprint, but a marathon and each game is another mile," Reed said.