Churchill Overcomes Northwest

by Jim Edwards

The boys basketball team won its first game at home this season and improved to 3-2 overall, beating Northwest on Monday night, 54-47 in Montgomery County 4A Boys Basketball action. 

The Bulldogs had suffered narrow losses in their two previous home games against two of Montgomery County’s top teams--Sherwood and Springbrook--and faced an improving Northwest team (4-1 entering Monday’s meeting).

After a sluggish first half that left the Bulldogs trailing 26-23 at halftime, the Bulldogs used strong defense and the clutch offensive play of senior forward Thomas Geenen (game-high 17 points, 11 rebounds and 4 assists) and senior guard Sam Edens (16 points, 6 rebounds) to secure the victory. Senior center Louis Rothstein also added six second-half points. 

“We showed a lot of mental toughness and resilience down the stretch,” said Churchill head coach Matt Miller, whose team entered the fourth quarter with a 37-33 advantage—a lead they never gave up."However, we need to start games with a little more sense of urgency than we have been if we are going to continue to be successful."

The Bulldogs stepped up the defensive pressure after halftime to limit the Jaguars to just eight second-half field goals. Churchill also limited the visitors’ second-chance opportunities, allowing just two offensive rebounds after the break. After their first home victory, the Bulldogs will visit Bethesda-Chevy Chase on Wednesday—the game will be their first division game in the new Montgomery County 4A South Division and Miller recognizes the importance of starting league play successfully. 

“We want to get off to a strong start in our division and go into the [holiday] break with a winning record,” said Miller. "B-CC is a much improved team from a year ago and we know we will need to be ready to play for 32 minutes to get that victory.

Churchill will also keep busy during the holiday break. The Bulldogs will host The Heights on Tuesday Dec. 27 at 7:30 p.m., in the first round of  the Bobby Miller Bulldog Holiday Classic that also features strong teams in Shaler Area High School (Pittsburgh, PA) and nearby Takoma Academy. Miller said his team will use the tournament and practice time over the holiday break “to fix some loose ends."

"We need to take better care of the basketball, and we need more guys in our rotation to step up their play and contribute,” he said.