July 27, 1998 - The Vienna Warhawks 12 Year Old Boys County Select Team won their third straight game by holding off Burke 46-39 Wednesday night in the Fairfax County Summer Basketball League at Marshall High School.

Vienna started out the game in their 1-3-1 full court trap that has been successful for them over the past few games. It didn’t last long. Vienna looked sluggish and Burke capitalized, taking an early 6-1 lead. After a quick time out, the Warhawks went to a 2-3 zone which helped neutralize Burke’s offense. Vienna slowly got back into the game, taking the lead at 17-16 late in the first half. During this stretch Ray Sparrow hit a crucial 3-pointer that really got the Vienna players pumped up. The Warhawks continued to control the boards and take good shots to take a seven point lead into halftime.

Brent Locey and Kwame Safo had 9 and 8 first half points respectively , while Ryan Boyer and Dan Pitcher provided the rebounding muscle needed to keep control of the ball during the first half.

In the second half, both teams seemed to trade baskets back and forth for awhile until Jeff Manthe got Hot. He made a nice baseline move and pulled up for a Nothing-But-Net jumper followed by two freethrows and a 3-pointer. The Warhawks built a 12 point lead going into the final minutes behind the additional scoring of Brent Locey and the rebounding of Ryan Boyer, Daniel Pitcher, and Sawyer Sams.

In the final minutes, Burke made a come back, reducing Vienna’s lead to six points, but the Warhawk’s composed themselves and held onto the ball to run out the clock.

Brent Locey led all scorers with 18 points followed by Kwame Safo’s 10 points. Ryan Boyer also had double digits, pulling down 12 rebounds. Daniel Pitcher had eight rebounds and Sawyer Sams grabbed 6 boards.

Also deserving mention is that several players made some great passes during the game, not always resulting in points, but likewise should be recognized. Ray Sparrow’s passes into the post, Mark Gentry’s driving and dishing, Hugh McCarthy’s Give and Go, and Brian Landry’s reverses all made this an exciting game to watch.

The win improves the Warhawk’s record to 6-3 with one more game left in the regular season. The final tournament will be held August 3-7, with trophies going to the first and second place teams. Go Warhawks!