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Barrie’s strong season ends in semis vs. eventual champ

Wednesday, March 1, 2006

The season ended a little too soon for the Barrie boys basketball team and coach Jack Mitchell, but considering the strides the team has made since Mitchell’s arrival three years ago, nobody is complaining.

The Mustangs entered the Potomac Valley Athletic Conference tournament as one of the favorites, having rolled through the regular season with a 13-4 league record, good for the North Division title. But after defeating the Field School, 48-43, in last Tuesday’s quarterfinals, Barrie fell, 42-38, to eventual champion Grace Brethren in the semifinals Thursday. Grace Brethren (22-9) nipped Jewish Day, 62-59, in overtime Saturday for the championship.

Barrie (18-11) boasted a 24-10 lead against Grace Brethren after junior point guard Eric White (16 points) hit a three-pointer to start the third quarter. But the athletic Eagles, paced by Devin Paige (17 points) and Gio Flowers (11 points), outscored Barrie, 32-14, the rest of the way largely through its full-court pressure.

‘‘They just pressed us,” Mitchell said. ‘‘We didn’t handle the pressure very well. In that situation, the better team won. We’re a little disappointed how it ended in the semifinals ... but all that did was give us a bigger goal for next year.”

Mitchell deemed the season an overall success, considering the Mustangs had compiled 18 combined wins in his first two seasons, including a 9-21 mark a year ago. His first year, Barrie had to play an independent schedule after being removed from the PVAC for a year because of inadvertent use of an ineligible player the prior season.

‘‘We’re very, very excited that we won the North Division championship,” Mitchell said. ‘‘It’s a huge accomplishment for our program at this stage. When I took over, we only had three kids on that varsity team — two seniors and one junior. We were forced to play ninth and 10th graders at the varsity level. For us to come back two years later and win the North Division ... that’s quite an accomplishment.”