Mount Vernon, West Potomac clash in basketball doubleheader tonight

Mount Vernon senior guard Alpha Kamara (Photo courtesy of Benjamin Machado)

West Potomac boys basketball coach David Houston III knows that, on paper, his team is the big favorite going into Tuesday night’s game against Mount Vernon. The Wolverines (10-2) are the defending Patriot District champions, have spent time in The Washington Post Top 20 this season, and swept the Majors last season.

Mount Vernon (4-8), on the other hand, is a young team still finding its way and has lost all four of its district games so far. 

But Houston, who’s in his 13th year on the sidelines for the Wolverines, knows nothing will come easy against his team’s Richmond Highway rivals.

“I’ve been involved in these games a long time, and ‘on paper’ means nothing with [Mount Vernon],” Houston said. 

The annual “Battle of the Highway” basketball doubleheader tips off Tuesday at Mount Vernon when the West Potomac girls and Mount Vernon girls get things going at 5:45 p.m. The West Potomac boys and Mount Vernon boys meet in the second game at 7:30 p.m.

In addition to being neighborhood competitors, the schools are now in the same district for the second year, meaning the game is worth even more than bragging rights. 

“They definitely take [West Potomac] a little more serious,” Mount Vernon boys coach Lou Golden said of his players. A 1992 graduate of Mount Vernon who’s been on the basketball staff since 2007, Golden says he preaches the importance of the rivalry on a regular basis — particularly to players who may not have grown up on the highway.

“This is a very big game,” Golden said. “This is like Redskins-Cowboys, Red Sox-Yankees. This is a very big rivalry.”

Golden will lean on senior guard Alpha Kamara, who’s the main offensive contributor for the Majors. A second-year starter, Kamara has had to pick up a lot of the scoring slack for his young squad after two starters from last year’s team did not come out for the team this year, Golden said.

“He, as a senior, goes out and scraps every night,” Golden said. “He’s been huge in whatever we do.”

Another bright spot for Mount Vernon has been freshman P.J. Horton, a 6-foot 3-inch forward who Golden says has a versatile offensive game and great basketball instincts that have allowed him to get more and more playing time. 

For West Potomac, there’s no shortage of weapons or senior leadership. Twin brothers Da’Jon and Da’Juan Bellfield, as well as fellow seniors Khalil Williams Diggins and Brandon Lisenby, all bring three years of varsity experience to the floor. Houston calls Da’Jon Bellfied, an all-district linebacker for West Potomac’s football team, his squad’s emotional leader.

Sophomore guard Daryl Mackey Jr. leads the Wolverines in scoring at 17.8 points per game, and Houston said Mackey is healthy again after missing a few games with an injury. 

The Mount Vernon and West Potomac girls teams also come into Tuesday night at very different points in their respective seasons. The Mount Vernon girls (2-9) are on a five-game losing streak, while West Potomac won the Joe Cascio Holiday Tournament in December and are sitting at 7-5 overall. 

Mount Vernon coach India Thomas says her team is playing with a confidence that exceeds their record, something she hopes will enable them to get a much-needed victory early in the district schedule.  

“They still go into every game thinking they’re going to win. As a coach, that’s a great thing,” said Thomas, who is now in her second season as head coach for Mount Vernon. “Once we get another win under our belt, I think we’ll be OK.”

Center/forward Susannah Anderson leads the Majors in scoring and rebounding and is back in the lineup after missing a few games in December. The 6-foot 2-inch junior has been on varsity since her freshman year, and is averaging 10 points and nine rebounds for the Majors. 

Junior guard Nori Solomon and junior point guard Emily Bordley average just under 10 points per game, and like Anderson are also third-year varsity players.

The West Potomac girls are led by senior guard Ty Taylor, who is averaging 10.5 points per game. Junior forward Natalie Terwilliger is also averaging double figures in scoring, with 10.4 points per game. 

The Wolverines have lost two in a row coming into Tuesday night’s game, and Thomas hopes the Majors can turn things around with an upset of their rivals. 

“It’s all they’ve been talking about, they can’t wait to play West Po,” Thomas said. “There’s more people there, the energy is higher … it’s a lot of fun.”