Heritage boys, Broadfording girls capture MDCC tournament titles

MARTINSBURG, W.Va. — A pair of Washington County high school basketball teams celebrated Mason Dixon Christian Conference tournament championships Saturday at the Berkeley County 2000 Recreational Center.

In the boys final, top-seed Heritage Academy rallied from a seven-point halftime deficit and defeated second-seed Shalom Christian, 73-65, in a rematch of the 2022 final, won by Shalom in overtime. The Eagles (21-3) beat the Flames three times this season.

"It's just that family thing. We said at halftime we're not going to give up, we're going to come back, and that's what we did," said Heritage junior Sean Mongan.

In the girls final, third-seed Broadfording (19-10) clamped down on defense in the second half to notch a 32-26 upset of top-seed Grace Academy (17-6). The two teams split their regular-season meetings.

"Coming off a losing streak where we lost four in a row (in late January and early February), we had to work together as a team to win this," said Lions sophomore Fanta Minteh. "It's just teamwork. Teamwork made it work."

Top performers

• Caleb Stamper, Heritage boys — The Eagles' only senior closed his MDCC career in style with 26 points, 14 rebounds, three steals, three blocks and three assists, earning all-tournament honors. Playing with four fouls for much of the fourth quarter, he managed to aggressively snare several key rebounds in the closing minutes.

"I had to play my best without fouling. I picked up some dumb fouls I knew I shouldn't have, but I know (avoiding a fifth foul) is doable."

When Stamper drained a pair of free throws in the final seconds for the game's final points, "I knew we had it," he said.

• Sean Mongan, Heritage boys — Mongan earned tournament MVP honors after finishing the final with 23 points and four steals, in the process passing the 1,000-point career milestone. He made four free throws over the final 45 seconds to keep the Eagles on the front foot late.

"In practice, we do this thing called 'win the game' where we each have to shoot foul shots as if we have a two-point lead," said Mongan. "(I have) high confidence."

• Jackson Cline, Heritage boys — The Eagles trailed 41-34 at halftime, but Cline ignited Heritage in the third quarter. The sophomore hit a trio of 3-pointers, including one that became a four-point play as he was fouled and made the free throw, and scored 10 of his 18 points in the period.

"It was just the talk at halftime, it got us really energized," said Cline, who also had 10 rebounds and three blocks as a point guard. "Our guys just executed at the highest level."

"Clutch baskets, timely baskets," said Heritage coach Mike Kidd.

• Fanta Minteh, Broadfording girls — Minteh was a late arrival to the Lions, joining the team in mid-December. She made a massive impact, and was named the MDCC player of the year earlier in the week. In the championship game, she had 18 points, nine rebounds and nine steals to take tournament MVP honors and join teammate Abby Drier, who grabbed 12 rebounds, on the all-tournament team.

"It was super easy to add (Minteh) to the group we had," said Broadfording coach Jacob Wyand. "She fit into the chemistry easy because she is so team-first."

• Marlie Snyder, Grace Academy girls — The senior scored 11 points in the first half as the Knights took a 15-13 lead, and finished the game with 13 points and three assists. She received all-tournament honors along with teammate Emma Smith, who had six points and 11 rebounds in the final.

Heat check

Shalom built its halftime lead in the boys final by raining 3-pointers down on Heritage, making 9 of 17 from deep in the first 16 minutes.

The Flames kept shooting in the second half, but they cooled off, making just 3 of 18 from deep over the final 16 minutes as Heritage rallied, outscoring Shalom 24-8 in the third quarter.

"We closed out better on their shooting and played better defense overall," said Stamper.

"It was the same way last night (in the semifinals) against Grace," said Kidd. "Shalom shot the ball really well. We had to close out better and hope they didn't shoot as well."

Defense wins championships

Broadfording took control of the girls game by keeping Grace off the scoreboard for large chucks of the second half. The Lions outscored the Knights 11-4 in the third quarter and gave up just 11 points over the final 16 minutes.

"We just had to get our head in the game and do what we've been doing in practice," said Minteh.

"We have been going over (playing) defense without fouling for the last two weeks," said Wyand. "In the first half we got away from that and we had to refocus on it."

This article originally appeared on The Herald-Mail: Heritage boys, Broadfording girls capture MDCC tournament titles