This Week in Sports - Week #26

Dave Levy, Athletic Director
It was an epic week of basketball at both the conference and state levels. Please take the time to read the feature article at the top of the Friday Letter celebrating our varsity boys basketball team's accomplishments. And then there's more below about the other two games they played - the state tournament first round win against Kenston Forest School, and the GPAC finals matchup against King Abdullah Academy hosted by Tandem in the Badger Den (click on the headline above to see photos from that game). Spring sports officially begin on Monday! See you on the fields!

Badgers Advance: Big First Round State Tournament Win!

Tied at thirty-eight after three quarters, Sin had seen enough. He took a lot of contact tonight, but still gathered up the energy to beat his man into the lane, draw the help defender in and kick the ball out to Amir. While the defense scrambled to get out to Amir (13 points on 75% shooting from downtown) Sin relocated to the top of the key. Amir wrote the check, and Sin cashed it in - three of his twelve in the final period! 
 
The next time down, it was Amir’s turn, hitting a corner three as deep as Lake Anna! On the ensuing possession, Kenston Forest brought the ball down the right side, and worked it inside to their top scorer. They didn’t see Shaan, who deflected and stole the ball away. Shaan got the ball ahead to Sin, who returned the favor when he saw Shaan open in the corner. Shaan drilled the three, Tandem led by 8, and the Badger crowd of seven people (which was louder than Kenston Forest's crowd the whole game) was on their feet! The home team called timeout, they really needed to regroup.
 
Kenston Forest was able to cut it to five on an inside layup with a questionable foul call. They came out in a press, but once Tandem broke it, Sin intelligently held the ball just inside half court as the seconds ticked away. There were under three minutes left to go and Kenston Forest began to panic. They rushed towards Sin and he responded with a slick crossover, taking the ball to the rim and scoring with ease. Now facing a seven point deficit, Kenston Forest tried to get the ball into the corner for a three, but they had to get it over Quis... not an easy task. They threw it too hard and it went out of bounds. On the other end, Mason assisted Tre as he put his finishing touches on the game, hitting a corner three off the bench to give Tandem a ten point lead!
Kenston Forest continued to fight - getting a layup inside despite excellent defense - hitting a late three - but as time wound off of their season, they were forced to foul to stop the clock. They fouled the wrong guy. With ice in his veins, Sin made 8/9 free throws down the stretch. The one time he missed, Sean (18 points) was in perfect position - he grabbed the rebound and got an and one of his own!

Tandem finished with a 26 point fourth quarter, their highest scoring quarter of the season!! So I ask you: if a tree falls in Kenston Forest - but there’s nobody there to hear it - does it make a sound? Tough to say... it was awfully quiet in the building when the final buzzer went off - save for the celebration from the Tandem Boys Varsity Basketball team - advancing to the VISAA Division III Quarterfinals!
 
It wasn’t easy. The game started an hour late, a lot of calls didn’t go our way, and even though Sean was dominant early (he scored in the paint, from the elbow, and knocked in two unguardable threes) the team was still down 14-10 after the first period.  In fact, Tandem didn’t take our first lead until halfway through the second quarter - and it was memorable - as Quis got a steal at the top of the zone and went the other way and got his whole head above the glass for a rim-rocking two handed dunk!  Quis was electric tonight - 6 points, 9 rebounds, 4 steals and 2 blocks -  all while being face guarded in the box and one. 
 
Amir extended the lead that Quis built -  he went on a 8-0 run all by himself - just like on senior night- knocking in consecutive threes and taking the ball to the basket for a midrange floater! The Badgers led by 6 at the half, as Shaan swatted a Kenston Forest buzzer beating attempt into the third row! That moment was emblematic of the way Tandem played tonight, and this game was a grind. The Badgers played with grit, tenacity and resilience - earning a 64-55 win on the road!
 
The Badgers were the only road team in the state tournament to win tonight. They advance to play St. Michael's tomorrow at Fredericksburg Academy. 
 
Congratulations to this extraordinary team and to Coach Sam on his 12th win of the season and his first VISAA State Tournament victory! Thank you to "Big Joc"elyn - for all the special energy she brought tonight, and to Peter for motivating the team in morning meeting.  You all did it - you proved him wrong!

Inner Light Shined Bright Tonight at the GPAC Conference Championships in the Den!

Despite a hot start, the Badgers trailed 33-23 at the half.  When they returned to the floor from the locker room, the energy in the building had changed. Our exceptional community was at full throttle - not only crammed into every inch of the gym, but they also had added cowbells to their repertoire. It was SUPER LOUD in the Badger Den - and the team reacted accordingly. They did not hang their heads or worry about the deficit - instead, they got right back to work.
 
The first basket of the second half was scored by Sin - driving down the middle for one of his many patented lay-ups with his inside hand! He scored eight in the quarter and 17 for the game. Defensively, Quis (18 points) came up with a massive block, and on the next possession, Sin assisted Quis for a corner three! Just like that the KAA lead had been cut in half! King Abdullah went back to their press, but Sean got in the middle of the high-post and found a cutting Quis for a layup. Tandem was on a 7-0 run - and the bells were ringing, quite literally, as King Abdullah called timeout!
 
The comeback continued as Amir planted his feet with a King Abdullah guard flying at him with a head of steam! Amir took the contact - right into his chest - and the place was as loud as it had been all night! Sean followed that up with a smooth floater from the left side of the paint. After Shaan dug out a rebound and got the ball up the court, Derion did what he does best. Open in the corner, Quis threw a wraparound pass to Derion, and as the ball tickled the twine, the Badgers tied the game!
 
"Fight, fight inner light," shouted our spirited student section - but you had to listen carefully - the decibel level in the gymnasium was well over 100! The Tandem run continued, as the Badgers got the ball inside to Sean who began to impose his will. He scored seven in the third quarter, and finished with 17 for the game.
 
With a 52-48 lead going into the final period, Shaan opened the quarter with a corner three. The Badgers were rolling, up by 7, and playing great team basketball on both ends. Down the stretch, King Abdullah made some difficult shots, got back in the game, and eventually pulled away.
 
What a season to date for this extraordinary team! With the #2 seed in the GPAC tournament, Tandem earned a bye in the first round and the opportunity to host the semi-finals! The Badgers then defeated rival Wakefield in the semi-finals at home in front of a large crowd! While we did not have the outcome we were hoping for tonight, there is no doubt that the Badgers played their hearts out - this team earned a very special opportunity to play in and host the title game in the Badger Den in front of all their friends and family.
 
Tandem played a very difficult non-conference schedule this season which included taking on New Covenant, the defending state champion. They also played Stuart Hall, the third ranked team in Virginia twice and St. Michael's, the top ranked team in VISAA Division III. Additionally, Tandem beat every single opponent in the GPAC - finishing with an impressive conference record of 10-3  -  winning SIX MORE conference games than during the 23-24 season. For reference, the Badgers finished last season 4-6 in GPAC play and 6-9 overall. What incredible growth!
 
While their extraordinary run isn't yet over (the Badgers will likely play Tuesday in the VISAA Division III State Tournament at a location yet to be determined) this team has defied the odds time and time again. If you were lucky enough to be there on November 15th - opening day - when the Badgers scored 82 points in a wild game against Appalachian Christian, you saw a team that had boundless potential, and were still learning how to play as a team. That's not when it all began, either. This team has been working together at 6:30 in the morning since early September - grinding away during the pre-season to prepare for what has been an exceptionally successful regular season and postseason. The epic OT win against Wakefield before the Holiday Concert and the magical blowout Senior Night win against #1 RMA are Badger Den memories that this team gave us as a community that we'll never forget.
 
For the third game in a row, Senior Captain Amir played his heart out. He scored two threes in the first half, took two charges, and is very deserving of his Honorable-Mention All-GPAC. Quis was recognized as Second Team all GPAC while Sin and Sean both earned First Team all-GPAC honors - and Sean was also voted GPAC Player of the year! Congratulations to all of these players on these exceptional accomplishments.
 
It's been thirteen magical weeks of basketball for this squad. One to go, Badger fans! Thank you to all of the members of our community tonight who made the Badger Den the place to be! Both The Ville and Scrimmage Play brought their media folks to cover the GPAC Conference Championship - hosted by the most awesome school in all of Charlottesville -  Tandem Friends - and the student section was wild! 

Thank you Cullen and Lili for their excellent work as team managers, to Jocelyn for taking on the scoreboard in an intense environment and to everybody who came to support us in the crowd - you absolutely brought it! Our little gym was the place to be and it was bananas!
 
Congratulations to Coaches Sam, Denzel, Mary and this entire team - what an amazing GPAC Regular Season and Tournament. So much improvement from last year to this year, and from the pre-season to the postseason. I know I speak for us all when I say that I am very proud of you. Enjoy the weekend - more basketball awaits you on the other side!
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Tandem Friends School is a co-ed Quaker day school for grades 5-12 in Charlottesville, Virginia.
 
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