August 5, 1998 - The Vienna Warhawks 12 Year Old Boys County Select Team won their sixth straight game by outlasting Chantilly 46-43 in the semi-finals of the Fairfax County Summer Basketball Tournament at Oakton High School. Vienna moves on to play Braddock Road in the Championship Game Friday night at 6pm at Thomas Jefferson High School.

Vienna versus Chantilly: Always a classic, always a battle, always down to the wire. Tonight was no different. Vienna’s ability to compete with Chantilly was in question before the game. The Warhawks only had eight players available, and Derek Feussner who scored 21 points the night before sprained his ankle between games and would only be able to play sparingly. Vienna could not afford to get in a run and gun type game with Chantilly. From the start, Vienna went out to control the game’s tempo. Playing a 2-1-2 zone defense and working the ball around was enough to slow the game down and keep Vienna within striking range. It worked to perfection. The Warhawks made Chantilly work for everything they got and were very patient on offense, taking good solid shots.

The lead went back and forth the entire game but never more than 5 points either way. Vienna was only down one point at the half 19-18. In the first half , Stuart Rawlinson, Sawyer Sams, and Ray Sparrow hit timely clutch shots from the outside to keep Vienna within Striking range.

In the second half, the game remained close. Kwame Safo hit two 3-point shots down the stretch that enabled Vienna to take a 4 point lead. Chantilly would cut the lead to 2 points with a minute to go, and Vienna stalled the ball to force Chantilly to foul. Brian Landry made the front end of a one-and-one, putting Vienna up 3 points with 8 second to go. Chantilly’s desperation shot at the buzzer fell short.

Every Vienna player scored during the game and every player had at least one big time shot that contributed heavily in the outcome of the game. The Warhawks had a balanced offensive effort with Brian Landry, Brent Locey, and Kwame Safo scoring 8 points followed by Ryan Boyer, Derek Feussner (6), Sawyer Sams and Ray Sparrow (4), and Stuart Rawlinson (2).