The Vienna Warhawks Division I fifth-grade boys basketball team defeated McLean, 38-34, in the championship game to win the Fairfax County Youth Basketball League tournament title.
The top-seeded Warhawks finished the season with a perfect 21-0 record.
They also topped second-place McLean in a regular contest to claim the regular-season title. In the tournament, Vienna defeated Burke, 53-32, and Chantilly Youth Association, 39-19, in the first two rounds, then faced McLean in the final.
Against Burke, the Warhawks were able to open up the game behind the scoring of Carter Davis (13 points, three steals), Josef Seifert (nine points, 10 rebounds) and Bryce Blinstrub (eight points, 10 rebounds).
Against CYA, Vienna set the tone from the start with its blanket defense, allowing CYA only single digit scoring in three of the four quarters. Seifert again led the scoring for Vienna with 12 points, followed by Oliver Gusky (nine points, 16 rebounds) and Davis (six points). In the title game,
Vienna got off to a fast start, leading 11-2 in the first quarter behind their excellent defensive play. In the second quarter, McLean started to connect on its shots, but the Warhawks showed no sign of slowing down, leading 22-10 at the half.
In the third quarter, both teams traded baskets on and off until, McLean got some key turnovers to pull within 35-28. In the final period, McLean pulled within one point with a couple of minutes to go, as Vienna had some costly turnovers against the press.
The Warhawks were able to connect on three of their four free throws down the stretch to hold on to the victory.
Vienna was led by Oliver Gusky with 13 points, 18 rebounds and four blocks. Davis had nine points and three rebounds. The other Vienna players were Tim Farrow, Miles Khan, John Kim, Will Gorkowski, Niko Popovich, Jaden Soto, Sean Smith and Sawyer Trelawney. The coaches were Darren Davis, Ashton Jones and Bernard Locey.
