Stevens walked to the bench, getting the type of late-game ovation usually reserved for a senior. In fact, senior guard Tyler Boston had received a similar send-off just moments earlier. As Stevens made his way to the bench, Boston started sprinting from the corner of the gym back toward the scorers’ table.
He was nearly at midcourt when he and Stevens met midair for a thundering chest bump. The rest of the gym couldn’t celebrate yet, but the two teammates could enjoy their moment of pandemonium.
“Yeah, that was nice,” Stevens said with a smile. “I’ve been working for moments like that, so that felt real good.”
At that point, the air was thick at the packed gym in Potomac. This matchup had been long predicted and highly anticipated. The Bulldogs and Hoyas have spent the winter planted in the top 10 of The Washington Post’s rankings, stacking impressive wins. Bullis, last year’s IAC champ, won both regular season meetings, the second a topsy-turvy, two-point thriller just three weeks ago.
Those wins handed Bullis the regular season title, but they also provided Georgetown Prep with plenty of fuel for a potential third matchup.
“That last game scared our guys. Got their full attention,” Bullis Coach Bruce Kelley said. “I think we were the best version of ourselves today because they put the fear into us.”
The third game was fast and physical from the opening tip. The Bulldogs felt they hadn’t rebounded well enough in the previous meeting and focused on playing with more toughness with a title on the line.
Bullis (25-2) led by five at halftime and started pulling away from the Hoyas (22-5) in the third quarter. Stevens provided the play of the night in the midst of the run, breaking into the open court with just one Georgetown Prep defender on his tail.
“My only thought was ‘I am going to put this on his head,’ ” Stevens said.
He did just that — and nearly sent the Bullis student section spilling onto the hardwood with his slam. Stevens led the Bulldogs with 14 points, followed by junior Eric Reibe with 13 and senior Caden Diggs with 12.
Before the season started, the return of seniors such as Diggs and Boston — with their wisdom and their talent — was what made Kelley confident his team could have another night like this.
“Guys like that make coaching easier,” he said. “They’re incredible kids.”