Jim Larranaga liked to bring in sports psychologist Bob Rotella for two reasons.
The George Mason University men’s basketball coach did so if he believed an individual player needed some help. Or he did so if he felt he had a good team that needed some extra clarity to tap into their potential.
The travel agent who pretended to organize a preseason trip to the Bahamas for the George Mason University men’s basketball team will spend the next 13 months behind bars.
Maurice Eugene Smith, 44, was sentenced today (Thursday) to one year and one month in federal prison after pleading guilty to one count of wire fraud back in April, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia announced.
A Georgia-based travel agent faces a maximum of 20 years in federal prison for his role in defrauding the George Mason men’s basketball team out of a trip to The Bahamas in August.
Maurice Eugene Smith, 44, pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud in federal court earlier this month, stemming from a scheme he orchestrated that left George Mason’s plans for the trip unbooked and unpaid for, according to federal court documents.
Local high school girls’ basketball teams recently wrapped up their winter season with a pair of all-star games as part of the recent 20th annual Northern Virginia Women’s Basketball Coaches Association (NVWBCA) Suburban Classic.
The contests, preceded by a three-point shootout, consisted of seniors from high schools throughout the area. The afternoon classic on Sunday, March 16 was held in front of a sizable crowd at Oakton High School.
The South Lakes Seahawks boys basketball team bookended its 2024-2025 season with victories over the same opponent — the second coming in a state championship game.
At the Siegel Center in Richmond on Saturday (March 15), South Lakes (24-4) rallied in the second half to defeat the C.G. Woodson Cavaliers, 68-60, to successfully defend its Virginia High School League Class 6 state title.
It has been an exciting winter for George Mason University’s basketball teams. One made history by earning a Division I NCAA tournament berth, while the other just missed making the big March Madness dance.
The women’s team (27-5) received an automatic berth by winning the Atlantic 10 Conference tourney earlier this month as the No. 2 seed. The George Mason men came close to the same feat, but lost in the Atlantic 10 tournament final to Virginia Commonwealth University in a 68-63 heartbreaker on Sunday, March 16.
A simple team approach, coupled with reliance on a standout player, helped the South Lakes Seahawks win a fourth straight regional basketball championship.
Led by senior forward Jordan Scott, South Lakes won the 6D North Region tournament Friday night (Feb. 28) by defeating the Westfield Bulldogs, 67-51, in the title game of the boys high school competition at Wakefield High School in Arlington.
The Langley High School girls basketball team won its second-ever region title and first since 2017 by defeating the Oakton Cougars Friday night (Feb. 28) in a championship game at Wakefield High School.
The Saxons (24-3) won the game and the 6D North Region title with a 54-37 victory. Oakton fell to 23-5 for the season, but both teams move on to the state tournament, which opens this week.
It took a determined fourth-quarter rally in a title game for the Flint Hill Huskies to complete a perfect dual-championship girls’ basketball season against conference opponents.
By defeating the No. 2 seed Episcopal Maroon, 52-48, in the final of the Independent School League A Division high-school tournament on Sunday (Feb. 23), Flint Hill capped an undefeated 14-0 season against conference opponents.
The Flint Hill Huskies’ basketball victory over the Sidwell Friends Quakers was significant on two big fronts.
The Friday (Jan. 31) home win by a 60-57 score tied Flint Hill (11-9, 7-1) with Sidwell (15-5) for first place in the Mid-Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAC) boys basketball standings.
