D4 eZ M2 THE WASHINGTON POST.SATURDAy, MARCH 7 , 2020
BY MICHAEL ERRIGOLate in the fourth quarter of
friday night’s Virginia Class 6
quarterfinals, Centreville for-
ward mekhai Washington spent a
timeout splayed out in the hall-
way next to the gym at Westfield
High. Washington and the Wild-
cats had spent the evening trying
to keep pace with Lake Brad-
dock, and the senior was cramp-
ing up.
All night, No. 20 Centreville
had chosen to combat the Bruins’
high-paced style with steely en-
durance. Instead of using an ex-
tended rotation like his oppo-
nent, Coach Kevin Harris relied
on players such as Washington to
withstand the game’s pace and
physicality to make plays. They
did just that, trading blows with
the Bruins in a dramatic 82-79
win.
“A t this point in the season I tell
our guys that everybody is tired,”
Harris said. “You have to find
somewhere deep within yourself
to get through. Have to find that
to survive and advance.”
Washington, relentless in his
pursuit of the rim, finished with
37 points.
“It was just do-or-die every
time,” Washington said. “I didn’t
want to go home. I’m not done
hooping yet. All you can ever ask
for as a senior is a state ring, and
that’s what I want.”
Despite his dominance, Wash-
ington chose to pass the ball with
the game on the line. Centreville
(20-5), after trailing for most of
the first half and then making an
inspired run to close the third,
clung to a lead in the game’s
closing minutes. Lake Braddock
(21-7) tied things up at 69 with
22 seconds remaining.
Washington planned to drive,
but when he saw senior guard
John Hunter with some space, he
opted for the open three. Hunter
caught the pass and went straight
up, hitting what would be the
game-winning shot with 14 sec-
onds left.
“my teammates did a great job
of finding me all second half,”
Hunter said. “A nd shooters shoot.
So I shot with confidence there.”
The Wildcats will face Western
Branch in the state semifinals
Tuesday.Edison girls win in OT
Late in a Virginia public school
basketball game, when there is no
shot clock to guarantee that a
possession will not be your last,
there is a certain confidence re-
quired of every shooter. No p layer
wants to be the one who fires up a
late-game brick.
But when Edison guard Char-
lotte Jewell caught the ball in the
corner with a minute remaining
in a Virginia Class 6 girls’ quarter-
final in Chantilly, she didn’t hesi-
tate to pull the trigger. Her team
needed quick points, and she
could have sworn she heard
Coach Dianne Lewis give her the
green light.
“She told me to shoot it. I think.
Wait, Coach?” J ewell said, turning
to Lewis after the game. “You
yelled, ‘Shoot it,’ right?”
Lewis gave her senior an em-
phatic nod. Jewell’s contested,
confident three sent the game to
overtime, and the Eagles surged
to a 49-41 victory over No. 16
marshall.
“A s soon as regulation finished,
everyone on the bench was like
‘This is our game,’ ” Jewell said.
Two weeks ago, the Eagles
(21-5) fell to marshall (22-7) in the
National District championship.VIrgInIA ClAss 6 bAsKeTbAll QUArTerfInAls
Wildcats dig deep to hold o≠ Bruins
CENtrEvILLE 82,
LAKE BrADDOCK 79BY STEVEN GOFFThe mLS season began last
weekend, but for D.C. United Gen-
eral manager Dave Kasper and
many of his counterparts on the
26-team circuit, initial roster con-
struction continued into the sec-
ond week.
And it will continue for another
two months.
following a 2-1 defeat to the
Colorado rapids, United signed
two experienced players, one on
loan from a Norwegian club and
the other via free agency.
midfielder mohammed Abu is
expected to be available for Satur-
day afternoon’s match at Audi
field against expansion Inter mi-
ami, while attacker federico
Higuaín will continue fitness ef-
forts before debuting this spring.
Both moves were in the works
for weeks and not announced un-
til after the season s tarted — n ota-
ble acquisitions that, in most U.S.
pro sports leagues, might not have
occurred at such a late point.
The NfL has cutdown dates,
the NBA finalizes squads on the
eve of the first games, and major
League Baseball teams set open-
ing Day rosters as spring training
ends. In mLS and in soccer
leagues worldwide, there is no
ceremonial day to unveil the
squad.
It’s different in soccer because
of the number of mechanisms to
acquire players (transfers, loans,
trades, free agency and home-
grown signings), the global talent
pool and the signing deadlines
that extend beyond the first
match.
“We will be so different in the
summer than we are right now,
and down the stretch we’ll be a
completely different team,” Unit-
ed Coach Ben olsen said. “ We t alk
about this being a journey, and
there are so many twists and turns
in how we play and with the
personnel.”
Before the openers, mLS teams
had to adhere only to salary guide-
lines and roster limits. United and
others left room in both catego-
ries to continue making moves.
The first mLS deadline is not
until may 5, the end of what is
known as a transfer window,
which p ertains to deals with clubs
abroad and intra-league trades.
free agents remain fair game un-
til rosters are frozen Sept. 1 —
about a month before the regular
season ends.
major European leagues alsoallow moves several weeks into
the season and reopen the win-
dow for a month midseason.
mLS’s second transfer window
will run July 7 to Aug. 5.
United began the season with
23 players under contract; the
maximum is 30. Abu and Higuaín
filled two slots, and the organiza-
tion is hoping to acquire two de-
fenders before may 5.
It is a complicated process
when teams are chasing players
abroad as United is. most leagues
run from August to may, so as
mLS is getting started, many
clubs abroad are engaged in tense
races — f or trophies, for qualifica-tion into continental tourna-
ments, for promotion to a higher
division a nd to avoid relegation to
a lower flight.
“We are in a situation now
where we have a few players on
our radar, and some of these play-
ers are in promotion or relegation
battles,” Kasper said. “Clubs say,
‘Listen: Whenever we get through
these situations and have clarity,
we would be happy to negotiate,
but right now we can’t. We need
these players.’ ”
Kasper did not go i nto specifics,
but people close to the situation
said United hit a roadblock in
trying t o acquire defender BakayeDibassy from french club
Amiens, which is second to last in
Ligue 1 and in danger of being
relegated.
United will have to decide
whether to wait for Amiens to
change its mind before may 5 or
pursue other leads. It also could
put the Dibassy pursuit on hold
until the summer window.
United has only three center
backs, including Donovan Pines,
who is recovering from an ankle
injury.
“You have to go down parallel
paths with multiple players,”
Kasper said. “It’s the nature of the
game. Every weekend, we have a
tracker, following t eams, trying to
predict when we think players
will become available.”
While the winter window is
complex in acquiring European-
based players, it accommodates
mLS teams seeking talent from
Latin America, where split sea-
sons typically wrap around the
holidays. Latin America has be-
come the primary resource for
mLS teams, which this winter
signed several players from mexi-
co’s Liga mX.
The greater global player
movement, though, occurs in the
summer, when most leagues aredark and player contracts expire.
In the middle of the 2018 sea-
son, United made its biggest
splash, acquiring English super-
star Wayne rooney. In 2017, it
signed Paul Arriola (from Tijuana
in mexico) and russell Canouse
(from Hoffenheim in Germany).
United might sign a high-
priced designated player this
summer. “It’s in the mix,” Kasper
said, “if we find the right opportu-
nity.” United employs two desig-
nated players (Edison flores and
Arriola), leaving one slot vacant.
“It’s definitely more fun shop-
ping in the summer than in the
winter, but there is always oppor-
tunity to tweak the roster,” olsen
said. “It’s tricky, but that’s why we
have a Gm who is very well versed
in this stuff, so I can worry about
coaching.”
Notes : Canouse and defender
Steven Birnbaum each signed a
contract extension through the
2023 season....
Ulises Segura, who started on
the left wing in the opener, is
questionable with a minor groin
injury. Emmanuel Boateng and
Yamil Asad, who missed most of
the preseason with a groin injury,
are the other primary options.
[email protected]In soccer, roster building doesn’t stop, and United is still looking for pieces
Inter Miami at D.C. United
when: today, 3:30 p.m. (3:50 kickoff).where: Audi Field.TV: Univision.records: United 0-1-0, Inter 0-1-0.D.C. probable starters: gK Bill Hamid; D Russell canouse,
Fr édéric Brillant, steven Birnbaum, Joseph Mora; MF Felipe Martins,
Júnior Moreno, Julian gressel; F edison Flores, ola Kamara,
emmanuel Boateng.Miami probable starters: gK luis Robles; D Alvas Powell,
Román torres, nicolás Figal, Ben sweat; MF lewis Morgan, wil tr app,
Victor Ulloa, Rodolfo Pizarro, Matías Pellegrini; F Robbie Robinson.“We made some big plays,
made some free throws, took
care of the basketball,” Brooks
said, summing up the fourth
quarter. “Thought we had the
game in a pretty good spot and
we kind of relaxed. And when
you relax, teams get hot.... But
I thought we made some big
plays down the stretch.”
[email protected]wIzArDs’ nexT THreevs. Miami Heattomorrow 7nBcswvs. new York Knickstuesday 7nBcswat boston CelticsFr iday7:30 nBcsw,
nBA tVRadio: WFED (1500 AM)47 p oints, led by the trio of Davis
Bertans (17 points), Troy Brown
Jr. (13 points, five assists) and
moritz Wagner (10 points). Ber-
tans and Brown played on the
closing unit that held off the
Hawks.teammates made the most of
their rationed opportunities.
Jerome robinson had
14 points on 4-for-9 shooting,
and fellow starter Thomas Bry-
ant added 10 points.
The second unit scoredc ompeted.”
While Beal drew most of the
attention — sometimes when
the Hawks played zone defense,
a lone defender remained glued
to him — and still somehow
dominated the attempts, hischallenged him a few times
during timeouts, but he re-
sponded. He got rebounds....
He made his free throws. He got
rebounds. He got extra posses-
sions when the game was get-
ting tight. I thought her eferencing Drew Hanlen. “Ever
since then, I’ve just been knock-
ing them down.”
The Wizards (23-39) pushed
the lead to 19 and survived a late
rally from the Hawks (19-45),
who were without star Trae
Yo ung. Yo ung, dealing with flu-
like symptoms, stayed back at
the team hotel.
“I love Brad’s routine, and
you’ll never know with his rou-
tine if he’s shooting well or not
shooting well because he’s con-
si stent,” Coach Scott Brooks
said. “I think that’s the key.”
Before the game, Hawks
Coach Lloyd Pierce offered nu-
ance in describing what makes
Beal such a tough cover.
“We watched film this morn-
ing, and I asked the coaching
staff, I said name a better guard
in the league that changes direc-
tions better than [Beal],” Pierce
said. “He’s kind of like a running
back, a Barry Sanders type.”
Yo ung’s absence spoiled a re-
match. on Jan. 26 in Atlanta,
just four games into his current
streak, Beal scored 40 points
while Young went for 45.
Even without Young, the
Hawks made the game interest-
ing. reddish, the 10th pick in
the 2019 draft, connected on a
three-point play and pulled At-
lanta to 114-110 with 1:28 re-
maining. reddish finished with
28 points on 11-for-17 shooting.
on the other end, Wizards
rookie rui Hachimura, selected
one pick ahead of reddish,
grabbed an offensive rebound
and got fouled. Although
Hachimura made no impact on
the offensive end (0 for 6 for
three points), he made both free
throws to extend the lead to two
possessions. Hachimura made
up for his offensive struggles by
pulling down a team-high eight
rebounds.
“He did a good job in that
second half,” Brooks said of
Hachimura. “Came back and
wIzArds from d1
Beal stays sizzling with 35 points in victory over the Hawks
JonAtHAn newton/tHe wAsHIngton Post
The wizards’ Bradley Beal, driving against the Hawks’ Bruno Fernando, made 13 of his 2 1 shots, including 7 of 10 from three-point range.wizards 118, Hawks 112
Atlanta ............................... 3423183 7— 112
Washington ........................ 3331292 5— 118
AtlANtA MiN Fg Ft o-tAPFPtS
Collins 29:05 10-15 5-5 3-10 1426
Hunter 37:01 4-11 1-4 1-9 1410
Dedmon 19:48 5-9 0-0 0-6 0111
Huerter 38:09 6-14 0-0 0-1 11 514
Teague 28:25 4-9 1-2 0-253 9
Reddish 28:47 11-17 1-1 0-1 2328
Graham 18:14 1-3 0-0 2-312 2
Carter 16:45 3-4 0-0 0-100 8
Fernando 13:24 1-1 0-0 0-212 2
Goodwin 10:22 1-3 0-0 0-131 2
totAlS 240 46-86 8-12 6-36 25 25 112
Percentages: FG .535, FT .667. 3-Point goals: 12-32, .375
(Reddish 5-7, Carter 2-3, Huerter 2-8, Dedmon 1-2,
Collins 1-3, Hunter 1-5, Goodwin 0-1, Teague 0-1,
Graham 0-2). team Rebounds: 8. team turnovers: 1.
Blocked Shots: 4 (Collins 2, Huerter, Reddish). turn-
overs: 17 (Reddish 7, Hunter 3, Carter, Collins, Dedmon,
Goodwin, Graham, Huerter, Teague). Steals: 9 (Dedmon
4, Collins, Huerter, Hunter, Reddish, Teague). technical
Fouls: None..
WAShiNgtoN MiN Fg Ft o-tAPFPtS
Hachimura 32:52 0-6 3-4 4-821 3
Robinson 35:34 4-9 4-4 0-6 5314
Bryant 24:12 2-5 5-6 2-7 0110
Beal 38:18 13-21 2-2 0-3 4135
Napier 23:47 3-7 2-2 0-360 9
T.Brown Jr. 28:07 5-10 2-2 1-4 5313
Bertans 26:35 3-12 8-10 1-3 1317
Wagner 18:21 4-4 2-2 1-4 1610
Bonga 12:14 2-2 3-3 0-001 7
totAlS 240 36-76 31-35 9-38 24 19 118
Percentages: FG .474, FT .886. 3-Point goals: 15-31, .484
(Beal 7-10, Bertans 3-9, Robinson 2-5, T.Brown Jr. 1-1,
Bryant 1-2, Napier 1-4). team Rebounds: 6. team
turnovers: 2. Blocked Shots: 4 (Beal, Bonga, Bryant,
T.Brown Jr.). turnovers: 16 (Napier 5, Beal 3, Bertans 2,
Robinson 2, Bonga, Hachimura, T.Brown Jr., Wagner).
Steals: 9 (Robinson 3, Beal 2, Hachimura, Napier,
T.Brown Jr., Wagner). technical Fouls: None..That loss, which Jewell later
called a “punch in the gut,” pro-
vided the team with both motiva-
tion and a new game plan.
“It challenged all of us as coach-
es to watch film and make the
right adjustments,” Lewis said.“A nd then our team went out and
executed every adjustment that
we made. New plays that we put in
just recently, they executed.”
The Eagles are familiar with
the state semifinals, having made
it each of the past six years. Butthat was at the Class 5 level. After
moving up a class this offseason,
the Eagles will make their first
appearance in a new final four.
They will face Western Branch on
Tuesday night.
[email protected]JoHn McDonnell/tHe wAsHIngton Post
Mekhai washington, center, battled cramps to score 3 7 points and lead Centreville into the state semis.