Boys Basketball: Cougars Fall Short of Comeback Win

In a three-game losing streak, the Oakton Cougars knew they had a fight ahead of them in the Centreville Wildcats to earn their first win since Concorde District play began.

The Cougars battled an early deficit to come within one point four times and tie once in the second half, but the Wildcats sank nearly every foul shot opportunity given to them by the aggressive Cougar defense to win the game 46-43.

The game started slow for the Cougars, falling behind 13-4 in the first four minutes. Two defensive rebounds from Connor Browning led to a Cory Harris layup and a Dale Good 3-pointer to give the Cougars a little offensive momentum. Another layup from Harris put the Cougars at 11 points, but the Wildcats would end the period up 18-11.

The Cougars held the Wildcats to 10 points in the second period, eight of which were gained in the first three minutes. The Cougars would not score until Michael Fradette sunk two free throws with 3:03 left on the clock before halftime. From Fradette's foul shots, the Cougars went on a 7-2 scoring spree to end the first half down 28-20.

"We needed to improve our defense in the second half. We gave up too many points in the first quarter," Coach David Brooks said.

And so they did. The Cougars held the Wildcats to four points in the third quarter and piled on the points, starting with a shot from Patrick Sofo within the first 30 seconds. Six points from Chris Durant and three from Fradette in the third put the Cougars one point behind the Wildcats at 32-31 heading into the game's last eight minutes.

The Cougars committed three fouls within two minutes of the fourth period, and the Wildcats sank all six shots. Good tossed in two 3-pointers to help the Cougars stay competitive, and Fradette was able to tie the game at 41-41 after scoring two free throws he earned after being fouled on a made layup. But the Wildcats pulled far enough ahead that a steal and dunk from Fradette with just over a minute left in the game fell short of earning the Cougars their first victory since December.

"Our defense progressively got better throughout the night, but unfortunately we weren't aggressive enough attacking the basket," Brooks said. "We only shot five free throws all night."

Fradette shot and made all five of Oakton's free throws. The Wildcats went 16 for 19 in foul shots, eight of which they sank in the fourth quarter.

"We were a little too aggressive with our hands on defensive end," Brooks said. "We really need to play defense with our feet."

Despite the fourth consecutive loss, the news wasn't all bad for the Cougars. For one, the team saw a breakout performance from sophomore Dale Good. Good led his team with a season-high 14 points, 12 of which he scored through 3-pointers.

"It's really a breakout game for Dale. He's a sophomore and we're really excited about what he's going to bring to us for the next three years," Brooks said. "He's a pure shooter and he shot it well tonight."

The team also emerged from the locker rooms feeling good about the fight they put up in Thursday's game.

"Coach was happy with us. He thought we were taking a step in the right direction, but there were still things we need to fix to win because losing isn't acceptable," Good said. "If we play the way we did in the last three quarters, I think we'll be fine."

Points: Dale Good (14), Michael Fradette (11), Chris Durant (8), Cory Harris (4), Alex Lucas (2), Robert Bacon (2) and Patrick Sofo (2)