Mount Zion Prep earns another statement victory; Friendship Tech wins PCSAA title

Washington Post

17-02-2025

The Mount Zion Prep boys' basketball team doesn't have the same makeup as the opponents they face at national showcases. They don't take the floor with a bevy of four- and five-star recruits. But what has allowed them to be successful against some of the nation's best, Coach Lafayette Dublin said, is scrappiness, physicality and an emphasis on defense. With those qualities, the Warriors feel they belong on the court with anyone.
On Saturday, Mount Zion earned another marquee win by beating Sunrise Christian (Kansas), 62-57, at the Heartland Hoops Classic in Grand Island, Nebraska. With Sunrise Christian coming in at No. 18 in ESPN's latest national rankings, it marked Mount Zion's third win this season against a nationally ranked opponent, the other two coming on back-to-back November days against Prolific Prep (California) and Utah Prep (Utah).
'They take pride in playing the best, and we get the best out of them when the challenge is in front of them,' said Dublin, in his first year leading the Warriors after leaving Rock Creek Christian. 'We wanted this to be a statement game. We said, 'Let's understand our opponent and let's show people that we're really for real, that our first games weren't a fluke.' They wanted to prove themselves.'
Since its a breakout performance at November's 5 for the Fight Hoopfest in Utah, Mount Zion (19-5) has garnered national attention as a deep team capable of beating any opponent on any given day. Francis Folefac, a 6-foot-7, 255-pound Siena commit, can create matchup nightmares by guarding any position on the floor and playing off power forward Kameron Wiley. Point guard Jerome Williams, who has a knack for shining against the toughest competition, led all players with 21 points against Sunrise Christian.
Mount Zion's postseason ambitions will be centered around the upcoming Maryland Private School State Basketball Tournament, which begins on Feb. 27. There's hope in Lanham that the Warriors will receive an invitation to a national postseason competition, too, but until then Dublin's team will maintain its granular focus.
'We're just keeping the main thing, the main thing,' Dublin said. 'Our goals remain the same. We try not to get too high or too low. We're just taking it one game at a time until we get to whichever championship we qualify for.'
— Emmett Siegel
The Whitman Vikings have had little time to catch their breath this season. The Montgomery County hoops scene is as deep as its been in Coach Peter Kenah's 23 years coaching in the county and the Vikings have seen pretty much every style and scheme the area has to offer throughout their difficult regular season slate.
'There's a lesson in every game — maybe that's the teacher in me,' Kenah said. 'We're just trying to expose them to as many scenarios as possible so that something new in the playoffs doesn't catch us by surprise.'
The Vikings (14-6) are one of several county teams poised to make a playoff run. Kenah's group has scored quality wins over Churchill, Walter Johnson and defending 4A champion Clarksburg. They also tested their mettle early in the season against local private school opponents like No. 6 Paul VI, Georgetown Visitation and Good Counsel.
Kenah said the team's challenging slate has helped it develop into the contender they want to become. Senior guard Faith Gardner-Johnston, a four-year contributor, is shooting over 40 percent from three as a high-volume scorer. Against Georgetown Visitation, she scored 23 points and hauled in 13 rebounds in a close loss.
'It's just been really rewarding to see all the time she's put in and how much better she's gotten,' Kenah said. 'She's on the top of every scouting report.'
With the playoffs around the corner, the Vikings are feeling confident. Whitman will close out its regular season with two home games: Tuesday against Bethesda-Chevy Chase and Friday against division rival Damascus.
'No nights off coming down the stretch,' Kenah said.
— Noah Ferguson
Sabrina Anderson, Potomac School: A sophomore who's already eclipsed 1,000 career points, Anderson has been among the best point guards in the Independent School League this season. She scored 22 points against Bullis last week after averaging 29 points per game in two contests the week prior.
Baba Oladotun, Blake: Oladotun proved why he's the top-ranked sophomore in the country against Sherwood, totaling 27 points and 13 rebounds in a massive win. On Friday, he scored 26 points and grabbed 10 rebounds against Springbrook.
Maya Pitts, Gwynn Park: In a 3-0 week for Gwynn Park (15-4), the junior averaged 28.7 points per game, including a 32-point, 11-steal night against Chesapeake Math & IT Academy South on Friday. Pitts is the leading scorer of a Gwynn Park team that has won 11 straight games.
Mason Ridgeway, Riverside: Ridgeway continued a breakout junior season by scoring a combined 43 points in victories over Independence and Stone Bridge as the No. 16 Rams completed their regular season on a 15-game winning streak.
No. 20 Meade boys at Old Mill, Tuesday, 6 p.m.
Cardinal District final: Forest Park boys at Potomac, Tuesday, 7 p.m.
DCIAA boys and girls championships, Thursday, 5 p.m. and 6:30 p.m., at Coolidge
Washington Catholic Athletic Conference girls and boys championships, Feb. 24, 6 p.m. and 8 p.m., at American University
Throughout this winter, there was not much to separate the top three teams in the Dulles District. At the end of the regular season, there was nothing to separate the top two.
Heritage, Tuscarora and Loudoun Valley all sat with 6-2 district records. The penultimate tiebreaker was decided by each team's record against common opponents, which saw Loudoun Valley drop out of the running and slot in as the third seed.
The Huskies and Pride remained equal. So with the regular season district title, the top seed in the district tournament and an automatic berth to the region tournament on the line, the final tiebreaker went to a rare one-game playoff.
In a close contest played on a neutral court at Loudoun County Saturday, Tuscarora overcame tired legs to top Heritage and claim its third straight regular season district title with a 50-45 win.
'We were a little weary on the legs, but great in spirit and motivation and understanding what was at stake,' Coach Michael Newkirk said.
The Huskies (19-5) avenged January losses to Heritage and Loudoun Valley with a win over the Pride on Feb. 6 and a victory against the Vikings Thursday. A win against Rock Ridge on Friday ensured Tuscarora would play their third game in as many days to break the tie.
Senior Joshua Feagin led the new-look Huskies with 19 points while junior Hayden Collins added 14 points off the bench in the win. The Huskies, boosted by midseason Paul VI transfer Colin Byrd, will look to combine last year's experience as Virginia Class 4 finalists with this year's new talent to manufacture another deep playoff run.
'Being able to just pull into getting that No. 1 seed, it just puts you on a certain track,' Newkirk said. 'We were telling ourselves: 'Whatever it takes.''
— Nicky Wolcott
For a young program, Friendship Tech Prep is quite accustomed to lifting trophies. On Saturday, No. 11 Friendship Tech (23-7) beat Cesar Chavez in the Public Charter Schools Athletic Association championship game. It was Friendship Tech's fourth consecutive championship and sixth overall since 2016.
And yet, Titans Coach Dwayne Shackleford said it never gets old.
'The faces change, but the formula doesn't,' Shackleford said. 'Those kids fell into the formula, they bought in to what we were doing here. That's the main thing.'
Shackleford — who grew up in Southeast D.C. before playing high-major college basketball at USC and professional basketball in Europe — uses his own experience to create his formula. In this group of seniors, Shackleford created a class of college-bound athletes who hardly know anything but trophies.
One standout is Aidan Haskins, a relative newcomer compared to the rest of the bunch, who transferred over from Friendship Collegiate after his sophomore year. At the time, he wasn't getting heavily recruited. Now, he's a two-time champion committed to play Division I basketball at Hampton.
'Going into my junior year of high school, not really getting recruited a whole lot, having a rough AAU season — I needed that change,' Haskins said. '[Shackleford] had already been eyeing me ever since they'd been punishing us my first two years. He gave me that call in the summertime and was like, 'Do you want to come to Tech Prep?' I was all for it. It's been great ever since.'
Now, Friendship Tech turns to the D.C. State Athletic Association tournament. Tech often gets a lower seed than its record would indicate because, in the PCSAA, it doesn't play as tough a schedule as other private schools and D.C. Interscholastic Athletic Association teams. The Titans have never advanced past the second round.
This year, Friendship Tech put together a much more challenging schedule. The group feels ready to take on D.C.'s best programs. And by now, the Titans aren't sneaking up on anyone.
— Matt Cohen