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SANDY SPRING — Even after a testy 62-57 road win against No. 24 Sherwood, the sorrow still lurked beneath the trembling words of Seneca Valley point guard Triston Price.
The No. 5 Screamin’ Eagles improved to 3-0 on Wednesday night; or as senior wing Brandon Simpson put it, another “checkpoint” in the journey to avenge the collapse in the Class 3A state semifinals this past March. But Price and Simpson couldn’t ignore the mark that was left behind by the late Andrew Dantzler, a Class of 2016 guard at Seneca Valley who drowned in Frederick County’s Lake Linganore in July.
“We lost a family member, so we have no choice but to work hard,” Price said. “Every day, every practice, every game, he’s on our mind.”
Price, who finished Wednesday night’s contest with a team-high 16 points, wears No. 2 in Dantzler’s memory. On Seneca Valley’s warm-up shirts, “AD” is patched on the left side of the chest. Dantzler is in Seneca Valley thoughts every day, serving as motivation.
“That’s basically it,” Simpson said. “We all want the same goal.”
Seneca Valley jumped out to an early 10-0 lead five minutes into regulation, applying heavy on-ball pressure to force four turnovers and disarray Sherwood’s halfcourt offence, who started 0-for-6 from the floor.
The Eagles led 15-5 after the first quarter, but soon had their lead chopped to 26-23 at halftime after Sherwood (1-1) converted 7-of-11 shot attempts in the second period.
Sherwood, distorting Seneca Valley with a 3-2 zone, clawed back to take its first lead of the game at the 4:10 mark in the third quarter, 35-33, after Josh Sells’ layup in transition.
“We got out of a flow offensively,” Seneca Valley coach Brian Humphrey said of the 30-18 stretch Sherwood reeled off after the first quarter. “We didn’t move the ball well.”
Soon after, Price committed his third foul and was forced to sit the rest of the third. Davis Long drilled a 3-pointer in the left corner to give the Warriors their largest lead at 38-35, but then Seneca Valley ensued with a 12-4 run to conclude the third quarter that was capped by a Matthew 3-ball before the buzzer.
“That gave us that little spark to get going again,” Simpson said of Matthew’s 3-pointer to cap the 12-4 run. “Keep the engine moving.”
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Kareem Matthew knocks down a 3-ball as time expires in the 3rd. @SVHSathletics leads Sherwood, 47-42 https://t.co/g2UXb6BO4E
Seneca Valley opened the first two minutes of the fourth on an 11-3 run to pad its lead to 55-45. Sherwood got to within 57-55 with 2:34 to go, but a stifling full-court press by Seneca Valley held the Warriors to one bucket down the stretch.
The Eagles return four of their top six players from their Class 3A semifinalist run in March — Crawford Matthew (15 points), Price, Simpson (15 points) — while adding transfer guard Trey Lucas from Urbana, who averaged around 15 points a game with the Hawks as a junior.
“Last year’s run set the momentum,” Price said. “We want to get back there.”
Seneca Valley staked a 10-point lead deep into the third quarter against Stephen Decatur in the Class 3A state semifinals, then it all unraveled. They led for all but the final 31.7 seconds of the second half, letting title hopes slip out of hand.
“Last year was a checkpoint for us to get back to,” Simpson said. “Finish it all this year.”
Despite losing most of their size — 6-foot-5 forward Quinten Twyman and 6-foot-6 center Terry Milburne — Seneca Valley will be a horse once again in Class 3A. With the addition of Lucas, the Eagles deploy one of the stingiest defensive backcourts in the state. They’re also not hesitant on employing a full-court press for an entire 32 minutes.
“If we can play defense the way we want, we can control tempo,” Humphrey said.
Seneca Valley converted a staggering 19-of-34 free throw attempts and surrendered 16 turnovers, two focal points in practice during the upcoming days, Humphrey says. The Eagles travel to Rockville on Friday while Sherwood hosts Churchill on Monday.
“The guys have learned all that it takes to get to where we want,” Humphrey said. “We’re just trying to take it one day at a time.”
Note: This story has been updated/edited
