Wednesday night’s matchup between the T.C. Williams Titans and the Yorktown Patriots presented a clash of size and athleticism versus discipline and jump shooting. On paper, it looked as if the 22-5 Titans had the clear edge, but the contrasting style of the Patriots gave T.C Williams more of a test than many would have expected.
Although the Titans only led by just four points with three minutes remaining in the game, they closed strong to win 56-43 at The Garden.
The dynamic duo of Jamal Pullen and Rick Matthews down low proved to be too much for the Patriots to handle. Pullen led all scorers with 15, while Matthews tallied 11. Tyrell Sitton scored 13 and made big plays down the stretch to solidify the win.
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The Titans jumped out to a quick 6-0 lead and never trailed. They pressed from the opening tip and caused six Yorktown turnovers in the opening quarter. They also established the high-low attack early to exploit the weak spots in Yorktown’s 2-3 zone.
Although the Titans were able to establish a double-digit lead, the Patriots clawed back into it and trailed by just four points with time winding down in the first half when a friendly bounce on a fade-away 3-pointer at the buzzer from Sitton gave the Titans the 30-23 halftime lead.
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T.C. Williams came out in the second half and looked to Pullen, who scored four quick points, including a two-handed slam to push the lead back out to 11.
The Titans ability to rebound the ball not only paid dividends on the offensive end with easy put-backs, but also forced the Patriots into a one-and-done situation, which disrupted their offensive rhythm.
A brief stretch of turnovers and poor shots allowed Yorktown to pull back to within four points, but when it came to crunch time, the Titans were up for the challenge.
They hit nine of their 11 free throws in the final period and turned a pair of steals into easy baskets en route to the 13-point victory.
With the win, the Titans advance to face the Herndon Hornets in the Northern Region semifinals. Herndon is led by Northern Region player of the year Austin Hamilton. The Hornets have won 13 straight, and Hamilton leads the region averaging 23 points per game.
That game will be played on Saturday night at Robinson Secondary School.
