To some, the Briar Woods and Potomac Falls boys basketball game Jan. 25 did not start to heat up until well into the second half.

When the game finally boiled, it did so after two overtimes and nine lead changes. The end result was the Falcons’ first win at Potomac Falls High School, with a final score of 77-75.

“It feels really great,” Briar Woods coach Mike Benson said. “We’ve worked hard to get where we are. There are a lot of seniors and juniors who have been working with this program for years.”

The Falcons (12-2, 8-1 in district play) began the game in a fury, quickly taking the lead and not relenting for three quarters, despite losing big man Matt Rolin to foul trouble midway through the first.

“We had to shift our D to adjust,” Benson said. “Luckily, we have five people on the court who can score at any given time.  We had to use all of our weapons.”

Briar Woods took advantage of Potomac Falls’ (11-5, 8-3) zone defense, sinking three 3-pointers in the first quarter. Briar Woods started the second quarter up 21-16 and continued to pad its lead, concluding the first half up 38-29.

But the second half brought out a new batch of Panthers.

“We didn’t execute the way we should,” Panther coach Jeff Hawes said of his team’s first half. “The second half was just getting back to our original strategies.”

Senior Gregory Graves led the Panthers surge, scoring nine of the team’s 17 points in the third quarter.

By the end of the third quarter, the lead had been cut to six, with Briar Woods leading 52-46.

Potomac Falls started the fourth quarter on an eight-point run to take its first lead of the night, 54-52. The teams alternated leads the remainder of the night, including a Rolin dunk over Graves that tied the game at 59-59. Two Panther free throws at the end of the fourth quarter tied the game at 64-64.

The teams once again alternated leads in the four-minute overtime period. However, after Potomac Falls stopped the Falcons offense with 30 seconds left, they seem poised to win the game. After passing the ball for the last shot, the baseline jumper was short. The first tip-in again was short, before senior Matt Galloway finally slung the ball through.

Unfortunately for the Panthers, time had expired.

Tied 70-70, the teams prepared for another grueling four minute overtime period.

“We look to each other for inspiration,” said junior Yves Kouame on pushing through. Kouame scored 18 points in the game.

In overtime, the Falcons earned two critical stops on defense. The first came when the Falcons were up 76-75 and put sophomore Trace McSorley at the line with 10 seconds remaining. McSorley made the second of his two shots. Possession returned to the Panthers, but a blocked D’Shawn Shorts shot all but ended the game.

The Falcons were led in scoring by senior guard Myles Tate with 20 points. Junior Jacob Ryan added 16. For the Panthers, Graves led with 28 points, followed by freshman Wanya Allen with 14.

Briar Woods kept pace with Loudoun Valley as the only two Dulles District teams with just one loss.

“We’re not even looking at the Dulles District title right now,” Benson said.

Benson and the Falcons go to Woodgrove High School Jan. 26, while the Panthers travel to Loudoun Valley on Jan. 28.