Ireton boys claim first WCAC basketball win 58-48 on the road

Senior Louie Khouri (10), a sharpshooting guard, led a balanced scoring attack at Carroll in a 58-48 win.

Bishop Ireton’s 14th-ranked Cardinals have played exceptionally well on the road this young season, but have played some of the area’s top teams while doing so. After jumping to large first half leads on foreign courts against top ranked Paul VI and perenially tough St Johns, the Cardinals have watched those advantages melt in the second half and eventually turn into last minute setbacks. Their third consecutive conference road game was a tight contest from the opening tip, but this time it was the redbirds that pulled away late for a 58-48 win.

The Lions (1-8,0-3), struggling with a tough nonconference slate, they entered the Sunday contest playing their third game in three days. Coming off a lopsided win over nonconference Don Bosco Cristo Rey following a loss to Bishop O’Connell, Carroll played the Cardinals close, trailing 16-14 after one period.

The game remained a see saw affair, and Ireton held a slim 25-24 advantage at the intermission. Carroll, led by Haskins’ game-high 22 points, took a 5-point lead midway through the third quarter, only to see Ireton counterattack and again end the third period up bya 40-38 count. The final quarter continued the trend as neither team wrestled control of the game, with four minutes remaining it was still a 4-point contest.

Familiar territory for the Alexandrians, close game on the road with a league opponent, but this time it was Cambridge Road school that muscled its way to a 9-point lead with 2 minutes to play and rode home to the ten point final. Key for the visiting Cardinals was a huge advantage from the charity stripe. While Ireton shot only 17 of 27 from the “line”, it was the difference as Carroll had only 4 opportunities the entire game and made but one.

Ireton had three players in double figures with senior Louie Khouri scoring 17, junior Dan Noe with 16, Pat Moseh added 10, and guard Taylor McHugh chipped in 9. Haskins was the game high leader with 22, Rowles had 12, but no other Lion scored more than 5 for the home team.

The Cardinals (7-2, 1-2) head to Atlanta, Georgia, for the Pius X holiday tournament. They will open on Thursday, Dec 27th at 7:30pm against John Paul II of Nashville, Tennessee, who enter the game sporting an impressive 11-1 record. After three games in three days, the club returns to Alexandria for their WCAC home opener, a tripleheader matinee on the final day of the holiday break. The Falcons of Good Counsel call on the ‘birds, with the freshmen game tipping off at 2:30, JV at 4:15, and the varsity matchup at 6pm.