Boys Basketball: Oakton Falls 58-41 to Chantilly

By Rusty Payne, special to Patch

The Chantilly Chargers boys basketball team is 12-1 after a 58-41 Monday night against Oakton.

The Chargers had a big second half to pull away from the Cougars, moving to 2-0 in the Concorde District. Oakton fell to 7-6, 1-1 in the Concorde District.

The Chargers jumped to a 7-0 lead to start the game, but Oakton got on track thanks to the 1-2 punch of guard Robert Bacon (17 poins) and big man Michael Fradette (11 points).  In addition, Chantilly’s shooters went cold in stretches of the first half against Oakton’s 2-3 zone.

The Chargers took a 26-23 halftime lead and quickly extended it in the third quarter thanks to pressure defense that created turnovers and transition points, as well as the continued scoring onslaught of Brian Sydnor (20 points, 2 3-pointers) and DeAndre Harris (15 points, 3 3-pointers).

The Chargers continued to force the tempo, which was too much for Oakton to overcome. The Charger defense held Oakton to just 18 second half points.

Frustrations boiled over for Oakton late in the game.  The Cougars were assessed an intentional foul in the backcourt, and also committed a hard foul on a Sydnor breakaway. Sydnor shook off the foul and sank both free throws as the game wound down.

Over the past several years, referee shortages in the D.C. area have forced teams and districts to rotate to occasional Monday-Thursday game schedules, rather than the traditional Tuesday-Friday slate of games. Because of the scheduling quirk, both teams had only a Saturday practice and quick turnaround to prepare. Each were coming off big Friday night wins, with Oakton beating Herndon 56-46, as well as the Chargers 67-53 win over Westfield.   

Oakton faces Robinson at 6 p.m. Thursday at home.