Osbourn Park secured home court advantage in the first round of the playoffs with their win over Osbourn on Friday night.
(photo via Amber Bonner)
The Yellow Jackets were riding high after their road win versus Unity Reed Thursday night, looking to take that momentum into their matchup versus Osbourn on Friday. They did just that, winning the pivotal conference game 60-54.
I immediately observed Osbourn's impressive introduction of the starting lineups, featuring the lights going out then a spotlight on the Eagles side of the court as the starters run down a gauntlet of staff/cheerleaders. Eagles fans fed off that and were a true sixth man to the team all night long. With it being Senior Night, an all senior lineup started the game for Osbourn.
The game started off in one of the most unique ways possible. OP won the tipoff when junior big man Josh Okuadido tipped it to sophomore guard Trey Terrell. Terrell collected it and looked to set up the half court offense. But before they could get into it, the Osbourn Park coaches frantically told Terrell to go towards the other basket. Terrell obliged, and ran towards it for an easy layup. After a pause in the game to discuss it, the refs counted the basket and play resumed with both teams facing their correct basket. I asked Terrell about that play after the game.
Osbourn Park took advantage of an error on the opening tip-off. (photos via Pierre Cannon)
"At the beginning of the game I was so confused at first when everyone was telling me to run the other way until I realized what was really happening."
OP replicated Thursday's 6-0 run to open the game. Osbourn would sub in their usual starting lineup and eventually tie things at 8. The Yellow Jackets would end the quarter on a 7-2 run, highlighted by a Jalen Proctor three-pointer off one leg right before the quarter ended. Proctor would come off the bench to score 12 points on 5-6 shooting, going 2-3 from behind the arc. He'd also add two steals and a rebound. Senior guard Logan Dwyer would also have 12 points on 4-8 shooting, going 2-5 from three. Dwyer would chip in two rebounds, one assist and one steal as well.
Freshman guard Jalen Proctor would give OP 12 points off the bench.
(photo via Amber Bonner)
Osbourn sophomore center Brandon Ahlers would nail a three pointer to get within four of OP at 17-13. Osbourn Park would call a timeout at the 5:13 mark of the second quarter, but wouldn't find much success in the next few plays with turnovers resulting in a Teyvien Barbour three-pointer and another ending in a Ahlers jumper giving Osbourn an 18-17 lead with just over four minutes left in the half.
OP would eventually get hot from beyond the arc when senior Daniel Salguero hit one from deep off an assist from junior Cam Portis. They'd force an Eagles turnover resulting in a Logan Dwyer three via RJ Jones. Fans would experience deja vu as Jones found Logan again from three on their next possession as OP went up 26-22. Osbourn Park would head into the half up 28-24.
Things would start rocky in the third quarter when Barbour would steal the ball and convert a layup and additional free throw to cut the OP lead to 28-27. The talented sophomore would cap off a 17-11 run with a three to take a 44-39 lead with 2:30 left in the third quarter. Osbourn Park would answer with a Proctor layup followed by a Salguero steal and assist to Proctor. Both teams would have 46 after three quarters.
Senior Logan Dwyer would score 12 points against Osbourn.
(photo via Amber Bonner)
Salguero would find RJ Jones for another assist and an and-one opportunity early in the fourth quarter. Jones would be the team's third double-digit scorer with 11 points on 4-7 shooting with two assists, two steals and a perfect 3-3 from the charity stripe.
Teyvien Barbour would go down with an ankle injury with three minutes left in the fourth quarter. He'd limp off under his own power and would eventually return a little over a minute later. He'd lead all scorers with 22 points. Senior Diego Aviles would have 17 points.
The final stretch of the game was amplified by both crowds bringing the energy all night long. OP would get called for palming. On their next possession they'd look for an inbounds but have to call a timeout. Coming out of the timeout, Osbourn's stifling defense forced a turnover as OP failed to get the ball inbounded.
Osbourn would inbound the ball after a timeout but Trey Terrell would jump the pass and convert to make it 58-54. Two more free-throws from Okuadido would seal the deal for OP. Terrell would elaborate on his mindset heading into that key defensive play.
"I kept telling myself I have to run really fast if I want this steal. I just timed it perfectly. Luckily I was able to grab the ball for an easy layup."
I spoke with Osbourn Park head coach Jeremy Coleman after the game.
"It's always tough to get a win at Osbourn. Between the band and the cheerleaders, it felt like the whole city of Manassas was here tonight. We knew we'd never stop Tey, but we had to limit his open looks. Diego was also a difference maker for them. But Trey got the steal at the end because he's a blur and big time players make big time plays. Jalen was also a force for us off the bench and provided incredibly efficient minutes."
I also asked him about having homecourt for Thursday's playoff game.
"I can't recall the last time OP had homecourt for a playoff game. Certainly long before I got here. It's a tremendous accomplishment because playoff atmosphere is different. But before we get there, we cannot overlook Unity Reed. Rolling into the playoffs on a three game win streak would be huge."
The win brings Osbourn Park to 10-10 (6-7) on the season before their final regular season game against Unity Reed (8-13, 4-9) at home on Monday at 7:00 pm.
For more on Osbourn Park basketball, keep it tuned here and follow them on Twitter @OPJackethoops.
Osbourn Park would like to thank their sponsors for the 2021-2022 season:
USMC Memoriam - Joseph Dwyer
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