Having seen Deep Run twice now, both times I’ve come away impressed with the team’s ability to create a game plan and execute it.

Friday night, the No. 10-ranked Wildcats fell to the No. 4 John Marshall Justices, 55-51, but the outcome of the game very easily could have gone either way. Coach Nat Draper chose to focus on the Justices’ top threat - Travis McKie - and let everybody else run free. McKie scored zero, but the Justices escaped with a win.

Still, for a Deep Run team that was undersized, holding the lead for the entire fourth quarter was no small accomplishment. And in the end they were done in by John Marshall’s Maurice Johnson, an inside player who came outside to hit his shots.

“Johnson got a lot of his shots on the 15-foot jumper,“ Draper said. “I didn’t think he was that great of a shooter, but he proved me wrong tonight. He was sharp.“

Draper’s team is the kind that nobody wants to face in a tournament. The Wildcats are undersized, but know exactly which matchups to exploit to give themselves a chance to win (no doubt because of their coach). Are they the best team in the district? No. But don’t be surprised to see the phrase “upset by Deep Run” on this site in the next month.

Kie to victory: John Marshall won in large part because Travis McKie was able to remain composed despite not scoring any points. If he gets even one technical or loses focus on defense, the game swings.

Deep Run’s Jordan Ward had the assignment on defense, and was talking to McKie all night. Midway through the third quarter, both players were warned by the officials to watch their conduct, but McKie never lost focus. He forced a couple shots, but on the whole resigned himself to rebounding and defense, both of which he did at his usual strong level.

Intentionally missing: Lots of times I’ll see teams intentionally miss a free throw while behind to try to get another possession. Tonight was the first time I’ve seen it done while a team was ahead.

With John Marshall up two and eight seconds to play, Devon Thornton missed the second end of his one and one. The reason? He missed it in the direction of McKie, who could jump about six inches higher than anybody else on the court and was virtually assured of getting the rebound. He did, and the Justices hung on to win.

It was an intriguing finish to a chess match of a game.