Stunned Early, Watkins Mill Claws Back But Falls to Kennedy in the Final Moments

After spotting the Kennedy Cavaliers 20 points in the first quarter, the Wolverines were down Tuesday night, but not defeated.

The new-look Wolverines inched their way back into the game in the second half, turning up the defensive intensity—and finding some newfound identity—before a trio of three-pointers rattled out in the final minute and Kennedy survived with a 52-42 win.

It was an inauspicious start Tuesday night as Kennedy’s pressing defense and sharp outside shooting built a 20-9 first-quarter lead.

Seniors Darnell Henson, Le’nard Wilson and Carlos Sanchez brought Watkins Mill back, outworking the Cavs until the margin was a tenuous 46-42 with less than a minute left—the home crowd pulling hard and the balance of momentum tipped well toward the Wolverines.

But Watkins Mill rimmed out three-point tries on each of the ensuing three possessions, and Kennedy iced the game from the free throw line.

The defeat was Watkins Mill’s ninth in a row, and fifth since losing four key players to academic ineligibility. The skid has left Watkins Mill with an 8-12 record.

Kennedy improved to 15-6.

Given that they held one of the county’s stronger teams to seven points in the third quarter and bottled the Cavs’ offense through most of the fourth, Henson sees improvements to build off of.

“Lately we’ve been coming together because we’ve learned that we have to be a team that slows the pace of the game down,” said the senior point guard, who netted a season-high 14 points Tuesday night. “If we’re running with everybody else, we’re getting blown out. Now that we’re staying in the game until the fourth quarter—if you’ve got eight minutes and you’re down like six [points] in the fourth quarter, it’s anybody’s ball game.”

Despite the loss, Coach Jay Tringone was encouraged to see better offensive execution in the second half and a defensive strategy that is starting to fire on all cylinders—crucial strides, he said, as the team gets ready for the playoffs, which start Feb. 25.

“We’re starting to understand,” Tringone said. “... I told the guys at the end of the game that we have until next Friday night to continue to get our new identity. Hopefully if we go back and watch that tape, they’ll be able to see what we saw tonight in terms of the reinvention of ourselves—being a defensive team and working the ball around. The kids are really attentive right now really and they’re really coachable and they’re starting to understand what we need to do going forward.”

The Wolverines close the regular season by hosting Wheaton (12-8) on Friday night and Gaithersburg (12-8) on Feb. 22. Both games tip off at 7 p.m.

Watkins Mill

Darnell Henson 14 points

Le’nard Wilson 8

Justin Meade 8

Carlos Sanchez 6

Deondre Jolley 6

Kennedy

Alex Grant 15 points

Chibuzo Osuchukwu 15

Marcus Murray 13

Robert Rose 7

Emmanuel Joseph 2