Hoops Notebook

Flint Hill Boys Hold Off Potomac School
From Staff Reports
Tuesday, February 26, 2008; E06

With his team clinging to a 42-40 lead with 27 seconds left in last night's Mid-Atlantic Athletic Conference tournament final at Potomac School, Flint Hill Coach Rico Reed convened with his assistants at midcourt, strategizing a way for his team to hold on to a two-point lead against a conference foe it had lost to twice this season.

Huskies senior Jeff Stewart was just feet away from his coach, calling for a less schematic approach while slamming his open palm into each of his teammates' hands.

"We came too far to lose now," screamed Stewart, who scored seven of his team-high 14 points in the fourth quarter to spark a 14-6 game-clinching run as Flint Hill rallied from a 10-point deficit.

Flint Hill (23-5) corralled the game's final two rebounds off its own missed free throws and held on for the 42-40 victory. The Huskies and Panthers (21-7), the regular season champions, will share the league title.

The Huskies host Fork Union Military Academy (12-14) tomorrow in the first round of the Virginia Independent Schools Division I state tournament.

Potomac School enters the VIS Division II state tournament as a No. 3 seed and has a first-round bye. The Panthers will play the winner of St. Anne's Belfield (16-7) and Peninsula Catholic (12-6) at home Thursday.

Potomac School junior guard P.J. Miller (27 points) scored 12 of the Panthers' final 16 points and was the only Panther who scored in the final period. . . .