Besides No. 1 Hayfield, Mount Vernon is the Northern Region's hottest team. The fourth-ranked Majors have won 13 of 14 games and seven in a row.

Mount Vernon's National District rival, Falls Church, dealt the Majors their only loss in the last seven weeks. Behind 30 points from senior swingman Darnell Denny, the Jaguars topped the Majors, 89-84, in overtime on Jan. 15.

And Falls Church did it on Mount Vernon's home floor.

Tonight, the Majors (15-3, 8-1) get a chance to make up for their one district blemish when they travel to Falls Church (11-7, 7-2).

The Jaguars had won seven in a row before Tuesday's loss to Edison, 55-49. Though Falls Church fell a game behind in the standings, the Jaguars still control their own destiny if they win out and finish with a 10-2 district record. Even if the Majors also ended up 10-2 in the district, Falls Church would earn the district tournament's top seed - and an automatic region tournament berth - by virtue of its two wins over Mount Vernon.

The toughest part of that equation for Falls Church is winning tonight.

Mount Vernon's Ryan Hughes has been arguably the region's best player over the last few weeks. The senior guard is averaging 21 points per game this season and has topped the 30-point plateau three times in the last six games. When these teams last met, Hughes scored a team-high 28 points.

But according to Mount Vernon coach Mark Sewell, offense is not the main concern heading into this first-place showdown.

``The bottom line is that we have to play better defensively than we did last time against Falls Church," Sewell said.

Though Mount Vernon allowed Falls Church to score 89 points with the help of overtime, the Jaguars' 79 points after regulation is still more than the Majors have given up in any other game this season.

Denny and senior guard Kevin Harris combined to score 44 points in the win over Mount Vernon. But in Tuesday's loss to Edison, they totaled seven, in large part because of their struggles from three-point land.

``Falls Church shoots a lot of threes," Sewell said. ``We have to make sure they shoot a low percentage by contesting their shots."

Another key tonight will be the marquee matchup down low between Falls Church's Mike Jackson and Mount Vernon's Justin Bell. Arguably the region's top two tight ends this past fall, Jackson starred on the hardcourt Jan. 15, scoring 29 points to Bell's 14.

``That is going to be a heck of a battle," Sewell said. ``Jackson has an all-around offensive game and last time he got the better of that matchup. Hopefully, Justin steps up this time."

Gar-Field at Hylton
Once again, Gar-Field will try to put an end to a nice run by Hylton.

When the teams met last month, the Indians snapped Hylton's six-game winning streak with a 59-51 win.

The Bulldogs (11-5, 1-2) bring a five-game winning streak into tonight's rematch at Hylton as they try to tie Gar-Field for second place in the Cardinal District.

The Indians (12-6, 2-1) are on a three-game winning streak of their own and enter the contest a game ahead of Hylton and a game behind first-place Woodbridge as the second half of the district season commences.

Despite all that is riding on the game, Gar-Field coach Andy Gray said he was not overemphasizing the importance of the game to his players.

``We've got three district games left to prepare for and this is just the first one," he said. ``We've won three straight and the kids are playing well now, we're finally starting to get everybody on the same page."

In the first matchup, the Bulldogs led by one at halftime but Gar-Field pulled away behind 11 third-quarter points from Michael Askew.

Also, the Indians held Hylton post player Jermaine Hill to two second-half points after he scored 13 in the first half.

The task in the post will be harder for Gar-Field this time around because rugged 6-foot-3 Hylton forward Ahmad Brooks, who was on a football visit the weekend of the first meeting, is back to basketball full-time and averaging 12 points a game.

``Physically both he and Hill [6-3] and [Curtis] Granby [6-4] and [Rickey] Pinckney [6-2] are all big kids," Gray said. ``Most everybody we play is bigger than we are, that's not going to be any different."

To make up for the size disadvantage, Gray said his players will have to focus on technique and positioning.

The matchup on the perimeter will be an interesting one as well as it pins two heavily experienced senior point guards - Gar-Field's Ryan Smith and Hylton's Lee Butler - against each other and two rising stars - Gar-Field sophomore Chris Vann and Hylton junior Jerome Quinata - face off at shooting guard.

Jefferson at Westfield
Westfield's goal entering this season was to launch itself into the Concorde District's top tier. Though the Bulldogs got off to slow start within the district, that goal is still attainable. Westfield (13-5, 4-5) can finish with a winning district record and as high as third place with wins in each of its final three district games.

Jefferson (7-11, 4-6) comes calling tonight and the Colonials' chance of finishing .500 in the district is on the line. The Colonials have lost consecutive games to Herndon and South Lakes, but dealt then-No. 1 Chantilly its first loss of the season last week.

``I think people don't take us as lightly as they did before," Jefferson coach Ed Grimm said. ``People are ready for us now and we just didn't play well the last two games."

In their first meeting, Jefferson beat Westfield, 65-62, in double-overtime three weeks ago. ``I think our kids are excited for this game," Westfield coach Bob McKeag said. ``We feel like we could have beaten them the last time we played. We were in position to win and we let it slip away. But I think we're playing with more confidence than we were a few weeks ago."

It shows. On Tuesday, Westfield topped South Lakes, 73-63, by outscoring the Seahawks, 35-19, in the fourth quarter and overtime.

``I don't know if that was a breakthrough game or not," McKeag said. ``It certainly was a big win and one that we can hopefully build on."

Perhaps the most encouraging aspect of Tuesday's triumph for Westfield was the 23-point, 15-rebound performance turned in by Brandon Powers. It was clearly the senior forward's best game in more than a month after a hot start to open the season.

``Brandon just settled down on Tuesday and took his time," McKeag said. ``To his credit, he's worked himself out of a slump."

Tonight, the Bulldogs would be best served by getting on top of the Colonials early. Teams that let Jefferson hang around usually end up watching the Colonials nail clutch jumpers to force overtime.

Also, slowing Colonials guard Justin Warren is essential. The senior's three top scoring performances this season against region competition - 22 points against Westfield and Herndon and 15 against Chantilly - have led to upset victories for Jefferson.

``We often go the way Justin goes," Grimm said. ``I'm not surprised at all that we have won big games when Justin has played well."

Lake Braddock at Robinson
Ask any coach in the Northern Region and they'll tell you: Despite its record, Robinson is dangerous.

Rams coach Doug Fulton has heard that, but he also knows his team has to start playing well soon or the chance of pulling off an upset in the Patriot District Tournament becomes even slimmer.

Robinson (4-14, 2-7) has lost four of six and has had extreme trouble scoring in recent weeks. ``Right now, we're struggling with our shooting," Fulton said. ``We're getting good looks, but they're not going down."

Lake Braddock (11-7, 6-3) has won four district games in a row. The Bruins bounced back from a disheartening 79-63, non-district loss to No. 4 Mount Vernon last Friday by beating West Springfield (8-10, 4-6), 58-48, on Tuesday.

The Rams and Bruins met Jan. 23 and Lake Braddock won, 61-51. However, Robinson was without senior guard Chase Payne (bruised hip) and forward Eddie Frietas (sprained ankle), and senior guard Mike Imoh played despite a number of nagging injuries and wasn't close to 100 percent.

All three are healthy now and expected to play tonight.

``We know what Lake Braddock is going to do," Fulton said. ``But if we're going to be able to play defense like we want to, we're going to have to take better care of the ball and finish on the offensive end."

This may not be the last time these two teams meet. If the season ended today, third-seeded Lake Braddock would meet sixth-seeded Robinson in the district tournament's first round with a region tournament berth at stake.

W.T. Woodson at Fairfax
Fairfax currently sits alone atop the Liberty District and holds the inside track to the regular-season title. However, the ninth-ranked Rebels (14-4, 7-2) are trailed by four teams within two games of their lead.

One of those teams is Woodson (12-6, 5-4), perhaps the region's streakiest team. The Cavaliers opened the season with seven consecutive wins, then lost six of seven and have currently won four in a row.

Fairfax beat Woodson, 56-55, in overtime on Jan. 15. The Rebels did it by playing stingy defense and holding down the Cavaliers' leading scorer, Jose Olivero. The junior point guard has scored in double figures every game this season except one, when the Rebels limited him to nine points. Olivero (21 ppg), is coming off one of his best performances of the season. He scored 35 points and shot 16-for-17 from the free-throw line in Woodson's 77-69 win over No. 10 Marshall Tuesday night.

In order to be successful tonight, the Cavaliers will have to keep Fairfax's David Will off the glass. Will scored a team-high 18 points and pulled down 12 rebounds the last time these teams met. Plus, the senior center has scored a total of 15 points in his last two games combined, so an inspired effort from Will is to be expected.