Leesburg, Va. — Sometimes in basketball, it’s a single quarter that makes the difference, and the Tuscarora High School boys basketball team showed just how true that was when they used a dominant third quarter to cruise past John Handley High School, 54-25, to claim their first ever VHSL Region 4C championship on February 24 in Leesburg.
“These guys will always be remembered for tonight’s moment,” Tuscarora head coach Mike Newirk said. “We let one slip away here last week. Quite frankly, we feel like we’re the best team in the district and in the region, and tonight, we were able to put a little punctation on that.”
After the Judges closed the first half on a 9-2 run to take an 18-15 lead into the locker room, the Huskies came out firing on all cylinders to start the third as they outscored Handley, 22-2, over the first eight minutes of the second half.
“We had a game plan coming in, and defensively, it was working great, but offensively, we were a little stagnant. We have a lot of talent at a lot of positions, so we’re at our best when the ball’s moving and players are moving.”
Tuscarora junior shooting guard Jayden Johnson got the second-half scoring started for the Huskies as he quickly hit a jumper to cut the Handley lead to 18-17. Senior forward Gavin O’Malley tied the game with a free throw, before Johnson ushered in the final lead change of the game on a finish and the foul to put the Huskies up 21-18.
Tuscarora senior forward Michael Davis—who finished with 15 points and 8 rebounds—added to the Huskies lead with an offensive rebound and crafty put back, before Johnson buried back-to-back threes to open up a 29-18 lead.
“A lot of people ask, ‘where did he come from?’ Well, Mike’s always been here, he’s a four-year guy,” Newkirk said. “The thing with Mike is he’s nowhere near the ceiling of his development. “
With less than two minutes to play in the third quarter, Handley freshman forward Kyren Oglesby finished on a putback, marking the first and only points of the quarter for the Judges.
On the next possession, a Davis dunk-and-one completely hushed the Handley faithful, and it felt like a Johnson triple at the end of the third put the nail in the coffin.
However, with eight minutes to play, the Huskies still had to finish and turned to the veteran leadership of O’Malley to get the job done.
“When I got the job four years ago, Gavin was the first person I went to talk to. He was in the eighth grade, but I told him, ‘next year you’re coming in, and I want you to be a part of this process,’” Newkirk said. “Four years later, during his senior year, we were able to take him to the mountaintop. And the best part is, we’re not finished yet. It’s always great when you make a commitment to a kid, and you see that commitment fully mature.”
Over the first four minutes of the fourth quarter, O’Malley—who finished with 14 points and 16 rebounds—grabbed four rebounds and scored eight points to really put the game out of reach at 52-24, before getting the rest of the night off.
“I’ve been here for four years, and I’ve never played in an environment like this. It was so great,” O’Malley said. “I’m so happy to go out of my senior year with a game like this in front of my friends. It was really special.”
Despite playing in his final game at Tuscarora, O’Malley will get to play another “home” game when the Huskies (14-1, 23-4) host Region 4D runner up Western Albemarle on March 3 at Riverside. While the Huskies are excited for that upcoming challenge, they’re also trying to soak in the moment.
“Tuscarora is turning into a basketball school, so we’re glad to be establishing a culture,” O’Malley said. “It’s the first time we’ve ever won a region title, so it’s really special.”
Derrick Jerry captured 175+ photos at the game!
Tuscarora Stats
| Tuscarora | Points | Rebounds | Assists | Steals | Blocks | FT |
| Jayden Johnson | 18 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 3-for-3 |
| Michael Davis | 15 | 8 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 3-for-5 |
| Gavin O’Malley | 14 | 16 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3-for-5 |
| Payton Williams | 3 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 1-for-2 |
| Travis Duggan | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0-for-0 |
| Malachi Bailey | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0-for-0 |
| TJ Duggan | 0 | 3 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0-for-0 |
| Kurt Lesho | 0 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0-for-0 |
| Braden Scott | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0-for-0 |
| Isaac Ure | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0-for-0 |
| Dylan Price | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0-for-0 |
| Zackary Rogers | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0-for-0 |
| Nick Swann | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0-for-0 |
| Chase Amboy | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0-for-0 |
| Totals | 54 | 40 | 11 | 12 | 2 | 10-for-15 |
Handley Stats
| Handley | Points | Rebounds | Assists | Steals | Blocks | FT |
| Jaevon Brisco | 9 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3-for-4 |
| Emerson Fusco | 6 | 7 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0-for-0 |
| Breylon Miller | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0-for-0 |
| Amari Brown | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1-for-1 |
| Kyren Oglesby | 2 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0-for-2 |
| Kaplan Ambrose | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0-for-0 |
| Tobias Dadisman | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0-for-0 |
| Isaiah Lavette | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0-for-0 |
| Ethan Oliver | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0-for-0 |
| Brian Trammel | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0-for-0 |
| Ryan Pratt | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0-for-0 |
| Kevin Larson | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0-for-1 |
| Brendan Campbell | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0-for-0 |
| Totals | 25 | 29 | 5 | 5 | 3 | 4-for-8 |
