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Sports

Mount Vernon Wins Third Consectutive National District Title

Konadu and Harris named to All-Tournament team

Late Thursday evening, Mount Vernon head coach Alfonso Smith was notified that the Edison Eagles, coached by his friend and former assistant Terry Henderson, had been disqualified from the tournament for playing and ineligible player. Instead, they were to take on the fifth-seeded Falls Church Jaguars, who lost 83-50 to Edison the night prior and hadn’t beat a district opponent with a record over .500.

While some coaches would be relieved to face such a team rather than the top-seeded Edison Eagles, coach Smith had quite the opposite sentiment.

“We believe we are the best team in the district,” he said. “We would have liked to have taken on the other team that believes they are the best in the district.”

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And as for the fate of his long time friend: “My heart goes out to Coach Henderson and the Eagles,” Smith continued. “He did a great job with that team this year, and this incident shouldn’t overshadow the accomplishments of their season.”

But as it was, the Majors squared off against the Jags, and it didn’t take long for everyone in the gym to realize it was going to be all Mount Vernon. National District Player of the Year Jesse Konadu took over the game from the opening tip, whether it was crashing the offensive glass or using his defenders tenacious tactics against him, pump-faking, and drawing fouls. He cashed in 7-of-8 free throws in the opening quarter, and the Majors were off and running.

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“I just wanted to attack the basket,” he said afterwards. “My wrist is hurt, so I was staying away from the jump shot, but my teammates were boxing out well, so I was able to get opportunities on rebounds as well.”

With the lead established, Harris went to his bench early and often. The constant supply of fresh legs kept defensive intensity high, and the game at a rapid pace that gave the Majors and their floor general Konadu a clear advantage. What looked to be a quick 8-2 run to start the second turned into a full quarter of complete domination, and the Majors outscored the Jags 24-7 to take a 40-13 halftime lead.

“There have been a couple games where the starters have built up a lead and the subs have been a let down,” Smith admitted. “But a lot of guys have been working hard to get into the rotation with the mindset that it might be their last opportunity to play.”

The Jaguars came out hard in the second half as if they still believed they could make a miraculous comeback. They hit three shots from behind the arc and matched their 13 first half points in the first 3:30 seconds of the third quarter. However, the Majors settled in defensively, and got back to scoring in bunches in transition.

All-Tournament team members Konadu and Dion Harris combined for 17 in the period, and the Majors were able to push the lead to 32 entering the final period, a quarter in which he was able to rest his starters and give his entire bench a chance to play. As a result, 14 different Majors got on the score sheet. Konadu finished with a game-high 25 points and 15 rebounds.

For Harris, this is his fourth National District title in seven seasons as head coach of the Majors. Jesse Konadu also became the first ever player in the history of the school to win three district championships. But still, they both know this win only gets them one step closer to their goal of a Regional Championship, as they gear up to take on Fairfax next week.

“They’re very disciplined, aggressive on offense, and play good team ball,” Smith said of the Rebels. “But we really like the momentum we have, and we will be looking to keep it up and play even better next game.”

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