by Colin Regan, Sports Information Coordinator and Upper School Faculty

In front of a raucous crowd packed into the Finney Arena, Gilman's varsity basketball team prevailed 59-57 over rival McDonogh at Silent Night on Monday, February 3, in an electric game that had fans on the edge of their seats through the final buzzer.

The Hounds came out of the gate firing, with Tyler Marshall '25 igniting the noise by converting a free throw at the 5:14 mark of the first quarter to secure the coveted sixth point and bring the large student section to life. Gilman opened the game on a 15-5 run before the Eagles made a run of their own to cut the lead to four at the end of the first quarter. The two teams continued to go back and forth throughout the second quarter with multiple ties and lead changes, but the Hounds ultimately headed to the locker room up 27-25.

McDonogh did not go down easy, however, and the Eagles started the second half on an 11-2 run to gain their biggest lead of the night. The Hounds quickly responded with an 8-0 run of their own, the last four by Jackson Brooks '25, to take the lead back. The teams traded buckets for the remainder of the third quarter until Jute Taylor '26 came up with a huge offensive rebound off a missed free throw with under a minute remaining in the quarter, which he kicked out to Amir Arnold '25, who then found Taylor open in the corner for a huge three-pointer that sent Gilman to the fourth quarter up 46-43.

The back-and-forth action continued into the fourth, but the Hounds remained ahead until McDonogh gained their first lead of the quarter at 54-53 with two minutes remaining. On the ensuing Gilman possession, Marshall drove into the paint, drawing two defenders, and found Taylor for another big-time three, putting the Hounds back on top 56-54. After the Eagles retook the lead at 57-56, Gilman responded one final time. After Gilman forced a turnover on the defensive end, Marshall pushed the ball upcourt and found fellow senior Evan Quintero '25 for a dramatic three-ball that put the Hounds up 59-57 with 11.2 seconds remaining. In the final moments of the game, McDonogh had a chance at the last shot, but it was Quintero again coming up in the clutch with a game-sealing block as time expired, which sent the whole arena into a frenzy.

Offensively, Gilman was led by the senior trio of Marshall (15 points, three assists, two rebounds), Brooks (13 points, two rebounds), and Quintero (11 points, eight rebounds). Off the bench, Taylor contributed eight points, and Marcus Turpin '27 contributed seven points, while Arnold paced the bench contribution with three rebounds. Dylan Buchalter '25 was all over the stats sheet as well, with five rebounds, two assists, and three steals to pace the Hounds' defense. Overall, nine different players contributed to the rebounding efforts, and five different players contributed steals. Quintero led the way with two blocks, including the crucial one as time expired.

See More Photos from Anne Stuzin P'20

See More Photos from Ronan Wrenn '28