Or, if he did speak up, he wouldn’t pick the aftermath of the Lions’ 37-point loss to West Potomac on Feb. 1 to do so. Or, if he picked such a tense moment, he’d conceal his true thoughts: that their bickering had to stop; that the Lions couldn’t play hero ball the year after a 1,000-point scorer graduated; that a 22-year district title drought, with this brand of basketball, wasn’t ending in the area’s toughest district at this rate.

And then, senior Ronier Peters said, Thomas spoke from the heart. The Lions listened.

“We all took that to heart,” Peters said. “Everybody on the team, we can all contribute.”

“I think it was even more meaningful that he was the one that kind of brought it to the table,” Barbee said. “He’s a very good, special kid.”

And then they won: three straight to make the Patriot District semifinals, then again against West Potomac — back-to-back district tournament champions — 38-35, then again over Alexandria City — back-to-back-to-back district regular season champions — in the final, 60-55.

As was the case with Thomas, the Lions have leaned on unlikely contributors en route to postseason success. They’ve moved away from shootouts and toward physical, defensive matchups with a slew of hulking forwards. They have seven players, Peters estimated, that could lead the team in scoring on a given night. In the district final, it was his turn, with his 16 points and seven rebounds pacing the Lions. And they put junior Jackson Young — who had played sparingly toward the start of the season — on their opponent’s toughest matchup for a 12-minute run, which ultimately helped Fairfax put the title drought to rest.

“We know what our team can do best,” Peters said. “And what we do best is defense.”

Broadneck gets record and championship spot

Broadneck girls’ coach Juan McKinney looked at guard Mackenzie Wharton, ready to take her out of the game. Wharton, a senior, had just scored her 30th point in the Bruins’ regular season finale against Arundel.

McKinney worried about potential injury and the optics of keeping a star player in for Friday’s eventual 65-20 win.

But what he and the rest of the Bruins soon realized, via whispers from the stands, was that Wharton was a mere seven points away from breaking the program’s all-time single-game scoring record set by Tammy Brown in 1990.

A steady chorus built in the Broadneck huddle, with every player imploring McKinney to keep Wharton in. Finally, he relented.

“Mackenzie, get in, get your seven and I got to get you out,” he told her.

Wharton got in, and with her teammates all focused on feeding her, quickly got her seven. The final point came off a free throw, and McKinney immediately called a timeout to get her out.

“My whole team ran over and gave me a hug, and my coach gave me a hug,” Wharton said. “That was probably something I’ll never forget.”

The win pushed the Bruins, having their best season in years, to 19-2. Broadneck, South River and Severna Park all finished in a three-way tie atop Anne Arundel County. The first tiebreaker to determine the two teams that will play in the county title game, head-to-head record, didn’t help. The Bruins beat the Falcons, the Falcons beat the Seahawks and the Seahawks beat the Bruins.

But overall winning percentage, excluding holiday tournaments, sent South River and Broadneck to the championship Saturday at 2 p.m. at Arundel High. It’s the Bruins’ first appearance in program history.

“I’ve been playing basketball for a while, and when I was younger I used to go to the Broadneck games and imagine playing for Broadneck,” she said. “Now I’m a senior playing in the county championship.”

Nyla Brooks, Bishop Ireton: The junior playmaker led her team with 27 points as the Cardinals beat Bishop McNamara last week, handing the Mustangs their only conference loss of the regular season.

Kirsten Holt, Dunbar: The sophomore took home D.C. Interscholastic Athletic Association title game honors as the Ramblers rolled over Eastern to their fifth-consecutive city title, 51-36.

Braden Sauritch, River Hill: The senior guard scored 15 of his 23 points in the second half of the Hawks’ 72-66 comeback win over Long Reach on Feb. 12. The win clinched River Hill the Howard County boys’ basketball championship.

Hope Drake, Briar Woods: The senior’s streak of consecutive free throws made ended at 50, setting a Virginia state record and marking the most by a girls’ high school player nationally since 2009. She also led an undermanned Falcons’ team to its second straight Potomac District title.

Montgomery County boys’ and girls’ championships, Friday at Richard Montgomery, 5:30 p.m. and 7:15 p.m.

Va. Class 6 Region D girls’ championship, Friday at South Lakes, 6 p.m.

WCAC boys’ and girls’ championships, Feb. 26 at American University

It’s been nearly a month since the Largo boys have lost. After falling to rival Gwynn Park on a last-second three-pointer in late-January, the Lions have rattled off eight wins in a row, including a 75-51 win over C.H. Flowers in their regular season finale Friday.

Coach Rodney Ward said his team is rounding into form just in time for the Maryland 2A playoffs, which are set to begin Feb. 27. All but one of the Lions’ last eight wins came by double-digits, and none of their opponents have sniffed 60 points in the stretch.

“Guys are locking in; you want them to do that at this time of year,” Ward said. “I think they’re ready for what the playoffs will bring, just based on the fact that they’ve been in it last year and they know what’s at stake.”

Ward’s roster features several returners from last year’s state title runner-up, including sophomore Jalen Johnson and star junior forward Cam Ward, who recently became Largo’s all-time leading scorer in just three seasons playing under his father.

The only sophomore on last year’s All-Met first team, Ward is averaging 27.7 points and 11.3 rebounds per game. He has also become more of a vocal leader, his father said, a facet of his game he was hoping to improve on at the beginning of the season.

“It’s my turn to show what I’ve been working for these past two years, to become the top guy on my team, to become that person for my teammates,” Cam Ward said before the season began. “That’s the biggest thing for me.”

Sandy Spring Friends wins PVAC

Entering this season, Sandy Spring Friends Coach Azhar Shamsudeen had every reason to feel optimistic about his program. Coming off back-to-back Potomac Valley Athletic Conference boys’ titles, the Wildebeests were returning five rotation pieces and had fared well in a variety of summer and fall events.

“When you have that kind of experience coming back, you know you’re in good shape,” the coach said.

But even experience comes with baggage, and as Sandy Spring took on an ambitious schedule this winter, the program’s biggest challenge was adjusting to a new season.

“When you have so many returners and everybody had a role last year, everyone has an assumption and an expectation,” Shamsudeen said. “But each season is different. Creating a new identity and new roles takes some time. So I think late in this season we did a great job of finding our identity, both individually and as a group.”

By the new year, the team had found its groove. The Wildebeests entered PVAC play tested and tough, dropping only one game in January and February. On Thursday night, they capped an undefeated league run with a third straight title, topping Berman Hebrew Academy, 74-47.

Senior guard Donovan Blackman led the team with 18 points, followed by Jake Tringone and Darrion Sardo with 16 apiece.

With a three-peat complete, Sandy Spring (23-7) turns its attention to the second annual Maryland Private School State Tournament. By winning its conference, Shamsudeen’s team earned an automatic bid.

“We’re definitely excited,” he said. “One of the things we’ve embedded in our culture the last few years is embracing challenges. … This group gets excited about playing some of the better schools in the area and showing them we are more than capable. The tournament is another opportunity to do that.”