Rams shifting focus to regional tournament after blowout loss
Strasburg’s Craig Pangle drives inside as Central’s Alexander Neff defends during second quarter action Wednesday night.
WOODSTOCK — A 29-point loss to a rival could be a demoralizing one for any team hoping to capture some magic in the playoffs. Strasburg’s boys basketball team suffered such a defeat on Wednesday evening, but Rams head coach Larry Fox’s message to his squad after a 70-41 loss to Central in the Bull Run District tournament semifinals was that while the Rams are down, they aren’t out.
Strasburg had already clinched a spot in next week’s Region 2B tournament before Wednesday’s loss, though the setback means the Rams, as the Bull Run’s No. 3 seed, will be traveling for Tuesday’s quarterfinal game.
The Rams’ destination had yet to be determined on Wednesday night, as they awaited the winner of Thursday night’s Shenandoah District tournament championship game between Robert E. Lee — which upset top-seeded East Rockingham on Tuesday evening — and Stuarts Draft. The results of that game, which determined the Shenandoah’s No. 2 and No. 3 seeds in the regional field, were not available before this story was published.
“We just talked about you still have life,” Fox said of his postgame discussion with his players following Wednesday’s loss. “You still have life and we’ve seen some strange things happen in regional play. You’ve just gotta believe. You’ve gotta believe in each other and it just boils down to we have individual kids that gotta believe in themselves. I’ve been around basketball long enough where I’ve really seen some strange things happen once regional play starts going. You win one game and it kind of trickles on there where some amazing things can happen.”
For that to happen, the Rams (14-10) need to shoot the ball better than they did against Central. Strasburg shot only 27.1 percent from the floor — making 16 of 59 field goal attempts — and weren’t efficient enough from the perimeter while connecting on 5 of 25 3-point shots. Three of those made treys came in the fourth period with the game already well out of hand.
Strasburg’s shooting percentage was even lower — 24.4 percent from the floor, 14.3 percent from deep — through the first three periods before Central removed most of its starters.
Wednesday’s game started promising enough, as the Rams survived Central’s 9-0 run to start the contest and rallied to even the score at 14-all early in the second period. The Falcons turned up their defensive intensity from there, and six turnovers plus sporadic shooting sent Strasburg spiraling into a deficit that reached as many as 36 points in the fourth quarter.
No Strasburg player reached double-figures in scoring on the night, with Derek Fox’s 9 points leading the way. Eight other Rams scored in the loss but Craig Pangle was the only one to reach 6 points.
Larry Fox said Strasburg’s ability to make shots — in particular, from the perimeter — is the key to everything the Rams do on the court.
“If we’re making shots we can contend and compete, I think, with anybody in the state,” he said. “But it seems like when we aren’t hitting shots it kind of affects a lot of different parts of our game. We just gotta get over that hump. It’s a weird sport where you’re not always gonna make shots. You’ve gotta be mentally tough enough to fight through those moments, and I thought we did a good job of that in the first quarter there, where they went on a little run and we were mentally tough enough to claw ourselves back in the game there and give ourselves a chance.”
Strasburg has formed a habit of struggling to make shots against its tougher competition this season. The Rams went cold during a crucial Central run in a 16-point loss to the Falcons on Feb. 2, and in the first meeting between the two rivals on Jan. 15, the Rams shot only 23.7 percent in a 19-point loss that followed a nearly identical path as Wednesday’s game.
Larry Fox added that Strasburg has had similar shooting struggles against George Mason, the Bull Run District’s regular season champ. The Rams figure to see teams of similar caliber as Central and Mason in the regional tournament.
“It seems like when we play Mason and Central, we just struggle to make shots,” Fox said. “I don’t know if it’s a mental thing for us. I can’t put my finger on it.”
- By Brad Fauber The Northern Virginia Daily
- Feb 14, 2019
Strasburg’s Craig Pangle drives inside as Central’s Alexander Neff defends during second quarter action Wednesday night.
WOODSTOCK — A 29-point loss to a rival could be a demoralizing one for any team hoping to capture some magic in the playoffs. Strasburg’s boys basketball team suffered such a defeat on Wednesday evening, but Rams head coach Larry Fox’s message to his squad after a 70-41 loss to Central in the Bull Run District tournament semifinals was that while the Rams are down, they aren’t out.
Strasburg had already clinched a spot in next week’s Region 2B tournament before Wednesday’s loss, though the setback means the Rams, as the Bull Run’s No. 3 seed, will be traveling for Tuesday’s quarterfinal game.
The Rams’ destination had yet to be determined on Wednesday night, as they awaited the winner of Thursday night’s Shenandoah District tournament championship game between Robert E. Lee — which upset top-seeded East Rockingham on Tuesday evening — and Stuarts Draft. The results of that game, which determined the Shenandoah’s No. 2 and No. 3 seeds in the regional field, were not available before this story was published.
“We just talked about you still have life,” Fox said of his postgame discussion with his players following Wednesday’s loss. “You still have life and we’ve seen some strange things happen in regional play. You’ve just gotta believe. You’ve gotta believe in each other and it just boils down to we have individual kids that gotta believe in themselves. I’ve been around basketball long enough where I’ve really seen some strange things happen once regional play starts going. You win one game and it kind of trickles on there where some amazing things can happen.”
For that to happen, the Rams (14-10) need to shoot the ball better than they did against Central. Strasburg shot only 27.1 percent from the floor — making 16 of 59 field goal attempts — and weren’t efficient enough from the perimeter while connecting on 5 of 25 3-point shots. Three of those made treys came in the fourth period with the game already well out of hand.
Strasburg’s shooting percentage was even lower — 24.4 percent from the floor, 14.3 percent from deep — through the first three periods before Central removed most of its starters.
Wednesday’s game started promising enough, as the Rams survived Central’s 9-0 run to start the contest and rallied to even the score at 14-all early in the second period. The Falcons turned up their defensive intensity from there, and six turnovers plus sporadic shooting sent Strasburg spiraling into a deficit that reached as many as 36 points in the fourth quarter.
No Strasburg player reached double-figures in scoring on the night, with Derek Fox’s 9 points leading the way. Eight other Rams scored in the loss but Craig Pangle was the only one to reach 6 points.
Larry Fox said Strasburg’s ability to make shots — in particular, from the perimeter — is the key to everything the Rams do on the court.
“If we’re making shots we can contend and compete, I think, with anybody in the state,” he said. “But it seems like when we aren’t hitting shots it kind of affects a lot of different parts of our game. We just gotta get over that hump. It’s a weird sport where you’re not always gonna make shots. You’ve gotta be mentally tough enough to fight through those moments, and I thought we did a good job of that in the first quarter there, where they went on a little run and we were mentally tough enough to claw ourselves back in the game there and give ourselves a chance.”
Strasburg has formed a habit of struggling to make shots against its tougher competition this season. The Rams went cold during a crucial Central run in a 16-point loss to the Falcons on Feb. 2, and in the first meeting between the two rivals on Jan. 15, the Rams shot only 23.7 percent in a 19-point loss that followed a nearly identical path as Wednesday’s game.
Larry Fox added that Strasburg has had similar shooting struggles against George Mason, the Bull Run District’s regular season champ. The Rams figure to see teams of similar caliber as Central and Mason in the regional tournament.
“It seems like when we play Mason and Central, we just struggle to make shots,” Fox said. “I don’t know if it’s a mental thing for us. I can’t put my finger on it.”
