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Sports

Titans Stand Tall To Claim Regional Championship

Senior center Mathews named tournament MVP

Just 10 days removed from a banner victory over Annandale in the Patriot District championship, T.C. Williams had to prove itself once again going up against the Atoms.

This time, much more was at stake.

With the Northern Region championship on the line and leading by one with two minutes remaining, T.C. Williams center Rick Mathews was the last Titans player in the way of Annandale’s Karl Ziegler on a fast break. Mathews stood his ground and drew a charge against the Patriot District Player of the Year. That play symbolized the defensive-minded Titans, who held strong in the closing minutes to claim the Northern Region championship 59-54 on Monday night at Robinson Secondary School.

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Mathews, who didn’t garner any district honors during the regular season, was named the most valuable player of the tournament after a stellar performance blocking shots and crashing the boards for second-chance points. He finished with 17 points on the night.

Even after defeating the Atoms for the district title, all the 6-foot-6 center had in his mind entering the game was the unpleasant memory of losing to Annandale in the first round of the Patriot District tournament last season.

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“I wanted everything,” Mathews said. “I wasn’t trying to lose this game. This game means a lot to us. We lost to these guys in the first round of the district tournament last season. I wasn’t trying to have that happen to us again after what happened to us last year.”

After a sluggish first half, T.C. Williams coach Julian King made a point to his team about the defensive structure he prides himself on, and the way Mathews didn’t back down.

“That’s what we live off of,” King said. “Our defense and [Mathews] knew that he had to go back and protect the basket and he knew they were in a situation where they needed a quick one. That’s how we practice."

After Mathews’ drawn charge, T.C.Williams' Jamal Pullen made a basket and guard Tyrell Sitton (eight points) grabbed a steal off a deflection for a fast-break layup and a 51-46 lead. Moments later, guard Tyler Driver stole the ball and made a pair of free throws to vault the Titans to what looked to be an insurmountable 53-46 lead with 1:15 remaining in the game.

The Atoms, who had played T.C. Williams tough all game and all season, didn’t give up hope in this fourth meeting. Ziegler had a game-high 21 points and power forward Melvin Robinson scored 11 difficult points down low.

After a Ziegler steal and layup, the Atoms were all of a sudden in a one-possession game, trailing 54-51 with 40.2 seconds left.

That’s when the fouling frenzy began.

With 33.3 seconds remaining, Annandale fouled Driver (nine points). Driver, who calmly made two free throws a minute earlier, missed both shots. Down by just a possession, the missed foul shots gave the Atoms new life. However, the Atoms did a poor job of boxing out the shooter after the miss. Driver did what any smart shooter would do and followed his own shot. After a scramble for the ball on the baseline, Driver got a rebound off his own miss and was fouled again. This time, he converted both free throws to give the Titans a 56-51 lead.

“It was real tough because that’s what we needed,” Annandale coach Anthony Harper said. “If we had got that and came back down for a quick two, you’re looking at a one point game or maybe tied. That hurt us a lot.”

With 15.3 seconds remaining, Ziegler was fouled while shooting a 3-pointer. The forward made all three foul shots to give the Atoms a chance trailing 57-54.

Then the Titans’ Daquan Kerman and Pullen each went 1-of-2 from the free-throw line to close the door on the Atoms.

Annandale led 21-17 at halftime following a sloppy first half. The Titans darted out to a lead midway in the third quarter when Mathews converted a three-point play to give the Titans a 29-26 advantage they wouldn’t relinquish.

The third quarter played to the Titans’ favor as T.C. Williams took a 39-34 lead entering the final quarter.

“We just wanted to match their intensity,” Pullen said. “In the first half, we didn’t really do that and that motivated us in the second half and we picked it up.”

Pullen (13 points) was a key cog in all facets of the game for the Titans. He helped his team stay within its defensive principles by stifling Annandale’s usual solid perimeter game, limiting the Atoms to just one 3-pointer.

“It hurt us in a way because we normally knock down anywhere from four to five 3s a game and to take that away from us that kind of affects us,” Harper said.

By virtue of advancing to the regional championship, both T.C. Williams and Annandale qualify for the state tournament.

T.C. Williams (24-5) will play Eastern Region runner-up Phoebus on Friday at 8:45 p.m. at Robinson. Annandale (20-8) will play Eastern Region champion Norcom in Williamsburg on Saturday at 1:45 p.m.

The Titans previously played Phoebus at the VirginiaPreps.com Classic on Jan. 22 and lost 48-41.

“That [game] was helping us prepare for this right now,” Mathews said. “Coach King came in a put us on the schedule with them so we could get good competition… It’s hard work, we [now] want to finish everything.”

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