Five Takeaways: IAC Championship

Adam Ayalew

February 17, 2019 @ 11:00 AM

ALEXANDRIA, VA -- St. Stephens & St. Agnes defeated Episcopal in the IAC Championship by a final score of 73-67. This was the fourth time that the Saints have defeated the Maroon this season, and it's possible they could meet for a fifth time in the VISAA State Tournament. Here we recap last night's hard-fought contest with a rundown of five takeaways.

RIVALRY RENEWED

The first takeaway involves the atmosphere that was created inside the gym. Episcopal is a boarding school that is less than two miles away from SSSAS, and their fans traveled well while the home crowd swelled to an equal size. Both student sections were enthusiastic and were quite audible inside the compact arena.

FOURTH TIME IS NOT THE CHARM

Conventional wisdom says that beating a team four times in the same season extremely difficult, and even more so when you consider the quality of opponent Episcopal is. The Maroon have suffered 9 losses this season, and the Saints have accounted for nearly half of those.

SAINTS VERSATILITY PREVAILS

SSSAS was meticulous with the ball offensively, and showed that the could execute just as well in half court as in transition. The luxury to bring a skilled post scorer off the bench like Andre Screen should not be overlooked. Juniors Jamal Barnes and Jared Cross were also instrumental in helping create instant offense in the half court. Defensively, they threw a variety of looks at Episcopal, but did not relent when it came to applying pressure. The mobility of Charles Thompson is a key ingredient to the Saints defense as it allows him to seamlessly switch onto guards.

JOHNSON'S EFFORT NOT ENOUGH

Xavier Johnson had one of his best offensive games of the season despite the loss. The George Mason commit, who scored a game-high 25 points, converted four impressive and-1 finishes in the second half alone. Johnson looks stronger and much more explosive now than he did earlier in the season, but his shot has been consistent throughout.

WHAT TO WATCH FOR

We will soon find out the seedings for the VISAA Tournament, but its quite possible these two teams could be in for their fifth matchup of the season. Can the Maroon find a way to knock off the Saints?