Churchill Holds Off Walter Johnson 62-56

The boys’ basketball team got timely defensive stops and four free throws in the game’s final 30 seconds to edge host Walter Johnson, 62-56, on Friday night.  

The win moved the Bulldogs into sole possession of first place in the Montgomery County 4A South Division. But victory did not come easily.  The visitors (9-3 overall, 4-1 in division play) built double-digit leads in the first and second halves only to see the Wildcats come roaring back each time. Churchill saw its second-half bulge reduced to just 57-55 after Walter Johnson’s Kevin Gill made a free throw with 1:20 left.  

“Walter Johnson gave us all we could handle tonight, and we expected that,” said Churchill head coach Matt Miller. “They are athletic and experienced, and besides that, it seems like all of our games (with WJ) are decided by a few points.”  

The outcome came down to free throws from sophomore Matt Moshyedi and senior Sam Edens. Edens scored a team-high 16 points, including two free throws with 18.7 seconds remaining to stretch the lead back to 62-55. On the defensive end, senior Louis Rothstein (6 points) stopped Walter Johnson’s effort to tie the score in the last 30 seconds with a diving steal and an alert time out to retain possession for Churchill.  

Senior Kyle Edwards also keyed the Churchill win with 13 points—all of them in the first half—to stake the Bulldogs to a 28-20 halftime advantage. Senior Thomas Geenen once again controlled the boards, collecting 16 of Churchill’s 27 rebounds to go with 9 points. Senior Christian Bonaparte added 8 points.  

The Bulldogs have a week off for final exams before their next game at home on Jan. 20 against Bethesda-Chevy Chase. Tip off is at 5:15. Churchill hopes to use that week of practice time wisely—while the Churchill coach was pleased to escape Walter Johnson with a win, he said the Bulldogs have more work to do.  

“We need to continue to grow as a team. We need to learn to take better care of the ball and take quality shots,” said Miller, whose team turned the ball over 20 times, including 14 after intermission to help fuel the Wildcats’ second-half comeback.

“We played well in stretches tonight, but we need to be more consistent if we want to win our division and go deep into the state playoffs.”  

Notes: Churchill JV raised its record to 7-5 overall with its fourth straight win - a 55-50 victory over Walter Johnson - Friday evening.