With a winter storm looming and bus arrangements taking the squad to suburban Maryland via Archbishop Carroll in northeast DC, the evening was shaping up to be a long one with the previously undefeateed and 20th ranked Glenelg Country School (6-1)ahead in the opening round of the Bullis Holiday Classic. But Coach Neil Berkman’s team got balanced scoring and played a smothering defense on the Dragons’ Isaiah Miles to cruise to a surprisingly large 75-52 win. Miles left the game with his fifth foul early in the final quarter.
For the Cardinals (4-3) it was their second win over a Washington Post top 20 team in as many meetings. The Alexandrians, lead by junior Antonio Rouse’s 25 points, grabbed the lead in the first half and never let up. Ireton held a 34-19 bulge at the break. The foul-filled contest saw the Cardinals head to the free throw line 48 times and adding 33 points from the stripe. Conversely, the Maryland squad made only 12 of 30 opportunities from the charity line.
Junior Patrick Hanafin added 14 points, sophomore Marcus Hayes had 13 and senior Marvin Elliott chipped in 10.
Saturday’s semifinal matchup with host Bullis, a winner over the Potomac School, has been rescheduled to Sunday at 4:45pm in the Bullis School’s “new” gym. The format has also been changed, due to weather, to a single elimination event, with the title game tentatively set for Monday.
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