Flint Hill Falls to Sidwell Friends in MAC final, 72-54

’s bid for a fourth straight MAC tournament title was put to rest by Sidwell Friends on Saturday as the Quakers avenged two regular season losses to the Huskies with a 72-54 win in the championship game.

The Huskies kept Sidwell’s Jamal Lewis in check with 16 points, but Josh Hart, who had been held to 10 and a season-low six points in the teams’ first two match ups, exploded for 24.

Hart got off to a quick start, dunking on the Quakers’ first offensive possession after a long rebound led to a breakaway. The sophomore stayed hot, increasing his confidence with every made shot.

“We’ve had some bad habits all season, and those habits really came into play tonight,” Huskies coach Rico Reed said. “I thought we relied a little too much on perimeter shooting, and that created a lot of rebounds which gave them opportunities to score in transition.”

Flint Hill has had success this season playing uptempo basketball with a quick, athletic, guard-oriented offense, but it was Sidwell that was able to reap the rewards of that style Saturday. Mo Berchie led the way with 19 points and Chrystian Brown added nine, but the Huskies received little secondary scoring, including only four points from Troy Thomas and two from Trevor Ogundepo.

“We never really got into our game,” Reed said. “They won the battle with regards to transition. I think both teams would like to play fast and push the basketball, but they did a better job of it than we did.”

The Quakers started both halves hot, outscoring the Huskies by a combined margin of 41-23 in the first and third quarters. Every Flint Hill run was immediately answered by a bigger one going the other way, and the game was out of reach early in the fourth quarter.

Despite the loss, Flint Hill’s season is not definitively over. Reed is awaiting a call for an invitation to the Virginia Independent Schools Athletic Association state tournament. A decision could come as early as Sunday.

The Huskies have now played in every MAC final since the conference was formed in 2006. Berchie, Thomas and Ogundepo all return next year and the Huskies lose only one starter, Brian Gross, to graduation.

They’re not the only ones who are excited about the future though, as Sidwell and Maret, which finished third in the regular season, also return key players. Reed is eager to see the overall level of play in the MAC improve.

“We will have battles for the next few years, which is something that excites me,” he said.

After a 1-6 start the season, the Huskies responded to finish 17-11, including the playoffs. Reed used the early season woes as a motivation tool to spur the turnaround, and says Saturday’s loss doesn’t dampen the program’s spirits.

“That is definitely something our program can hang its hat on and look at as being an accomplishment and recognize that it’s something we can set our sights on for next year,” said Reed of the consecutive tournament finals appearances. “They are champions. We are not losers. We did not win tonight, but by no means can we describe ourselves as losers.”