Finally, the Lake Braddock Bruins won a close basketball game.
After opening their season with two- and three-point losses, the boys high-school team rallied to win a tight contest by defeating the visiting Marshall Statesmen, 59-53, in overtime in non-district action Dec. 10.
Lake Braddock (1-2) trailed 33-28 at halftime, but battled back to tie the score at 42 at the end of three quarters and at 50 after regulation.
In overtime, the Bruins took the lead for good at 55-52 with 2:32 to play, then hit some clutch foul shots to close out the victory.
Lake Braddock benefited in overtime from Marshall making just one of six foul shots in the extra period. For the game, Marshall was just 2 of 12 from the foul line.
In contrast, Lake Braddock made five of six free throws in overtime.
The loss was the first for Marshall, which fell to 3-1.
Lake Braddock lost its first two games, both on the road, to the Wakefield Warriors, 55-53, and to the Oakton Cougars, 43-40, on a last-second three-point shot.
The Bruins have been without three of their top players in the three games because they were still involved with the school’s region-champion football team until this week.
In the win over Marshall, senior guard Tyee Clayton led Lake Braddock in scoring with 20 points to go with four rebounds and three assists. Senior forward Nick Tar added 10 points with seven rebounds, scoring four points in overtime.
Junior forward Nate McCombs had 14 rebounds, nine points and four assists for the Bruins, sophomore guard Brook Anteneh scored eight with four boards, and junior point guard Dean Johnson scored three with two steals and three assists.
