Last Friday night was a banner one for the Dominion High boys basketball team, which earned one of its biggest wins in its six-year history as a program when it defeated defending Dulles District champion Potomac Falls, 58-52, in a road game.
"It was a great win for us and a game for the number-one spot in the district," said Dominion coach Steve Douglas, whose team improved to 9-4 overall and 4-0 in the district.
For Potomac Falls (9-3, 4-1), it marked the first district setback of the season.
Dominion, a senior laden team with 10 12th-graders, was led by Deandre Albritton’s game-high 26 points. A senior point guard, Albritton is averaging 19 points a game this winter. Also in double figures in the win for the Titans was senior guard Greg Smucker (12 points).
Potomac Falls received double-digit outings from senior guard Kevin Bartnick (18 points) and sophomore shooting guard Lukas Mihailovich (15).
Dominion has never won a district boys basketball title in its brief history. The Titans were 12-12 overall last year and 7-7 in the district.
Douglas loves the makeup of this year’s squad, which plays unselfish and has team goals as its top priority.
"I’m so proud of these kids for buying into what we’re teaching," said Douglas, the team’s second-year coach. "It’s their team and they’re taking ownership of it. They know the lone goal is to win. It’s been fun so far."
Playing at the charged up Potomac Falls gymnasium was a stiff challenge for Dominion. A huge crowd was on hand for the game that would determine first place as the season nears its midway point.
"They have a great crowd over there and a great fan base," Douglas said. "I was very proud of my team. It was one of the better defensive games we’ve played in my two years. In rivalry games, enthusiasm and adrenaline is going to come out."
Dominion led 29-27 at halftime, but Potomac Falls got on a roll in the third quarter and outscored the Titans 15-1 to close the quarter with the lead. The Titans held the Panthers to just five points in the final quarter to gain the win.
"We played man-to-man [defense] the whole game," Douglas said.
The coach said his team always plays all out, but that the Titans revved it up a gear against Potomac Falls.
"We really wanted to rebound and were making the second and third jumps [on the boards]," the coach said. "We were aggressive going to the basket. We took it to another level."
<b>DOMINION’S</b> prior district wins this season came against Loudoun County, Freedom and Park View. The win over visiting Park View, a 58-53 victory, came earlier last week on Jan. 6. In that game, Titan sophomore guard Deandre Reaves scored 24 points. Other top Dominion scorers in the win were Albritton (15 points) and senior forward Aaron Good (9). Park View (5-5) was led by Marcus Freeman and Jordan Owens, who both scored 13 points, and Josh Jones (9 points). The Patriots led that game 30-29 at halftime before Dominion ultimately prevailed.
Douglas said his team made key defensive stops late in the games against County, Park View and Potomac Falls.
"We’re just gaining confidence, playing defense and winning big games," the coach said.
Over the holidays, Dominion competed in a tournament at Stone Bridge. There, the Titans defeated Stone Bridge, but lost games to Loudoun Valley and Broad Run. One of the highlights of the tournament for Dominion was a 21-point outing from junior shooting guard Chris Huff in the loss to Valley.
Dominion’s leading scorers this season are Albritton (19 points per game), off guard Reaves (13) and senior twins Steve and Greg Smucker (9 and 8 points, respectively). Good, a frontcourt player, is averaging six points and six rebounds and playing solid defense inside the paint. Senior forward Sean Ashton is bringing down seven boards a game.
The Smucker brothers are both outstanding defensive players, according to Douglas. Greg scored 12 second-half points in the win over Potomac Falls.
"We’re winning as a team," Douglas said. "The kids have played so hard for me this year. When you play hard, good things will happen. They want to win."
Dominion was set to play three district games this week — Monday at Heritage, Wednesday at home against Broad Run and this Friday night at home against Briar Woods.