The once comfortable 18-point lead Glenelg Country boys basketball enjoyed was down to two in the final minutes at No. 2 Archbishop Spalding on Friday, leaving the No. 4 Dragons with unexpected work left.
Senior guard Jalen Baker proved up to the task.
He finished on a tough follow for two points with 1:13 to play. Then, after the Cavaliers cut the lead to one and had the ball in the final seconds, Baker got higher than the rest to pull down Colt Busse’s missed jumper to secure the Dragons’ 47-46 win in Maryland Interscholastic Athletic Association A Conference play.
“Whatever they need me to do to win, I’m going to try my best to do it every night. That’s really it,” said Baker, who finished with seven points. “They came back — that’s a great team — but we just stuck together in the end to pull out the win.”
Senior standout guard Pat Curtin scored a game-high 25 points as Glenelg Country (16-6) moved into a first-place tie with Spalding (20-6) as both teams share an 11-3 mark in the MIAA A’s Black Division.
While the host Cavaliers struggled to find their form on offense well into the third quarter, the Dragons were gradually pulling away behind Curtin. He opened with the visitors’ first 10 points as they took a 12-4 lead after one quarter that stretched to 37-19 on Donavan Marshall’s basket late in the third quarter.
On senior night in front of a packed crowd, the Cavaliers gave them something to rave about with a resilient comeback bid.
They scored the last seven points of the third quarter, with Moe Lonergan’s jumper at the buzzer cutting the Dragons’ lead to 37-26.
After Curtin opened the fourth quarter with a short fadeaway jumper along the baseline on the Dragons’ opening possession, the Cavaliers got a 3-pointer from Busse and an emphatic dunk from Braxton Bogard. When TJ Moultrie spun through the lane for another basket, it was 39-35 with 5:52 to play.
After Glenelg Country responded with with baskets from Deng Jok, Drew Harris and Curtin to push the lead back to 45-38, the Cavaliers came with yet another push.
Elijah Barrett (team-high 14 points) hit a 3 and then a jumper to cut the lead to 45-43 with 1:34 to go. After Baker’s follow, Busse hit a 3 with 21 seconds left to make it 47-46. Following a Dragons turnover, the Cavaliers got shots off from Lonergan and Busse before Baker’s rebound with less than a second to play sent Glenelg Country home with a resilient win.
“Our end goal is we want to win the championship, so these type of games definitely prepares us for it,” Baker said. “We’re thankful for these type of games.”
Added Curtin: “It was a real gritty game and I think we played our style most of the way. But they came down and hit a lot of shots at the end to make a great run. We got to get better in late-game scenarios — holding teams down. But we made the right plays when it counted and we got a dub somehow, someway.”
For Spalding, Busse joined Barrett in double figures with 13 points.
“We had our opportunities at the end and that’s what you want,” Spalding coach Josh Pratt said. “Just two really good teams and we’ll probably see each other in the playoffs. It’s a tough loss, but I think we’ll watch the film and get better from it.”
Spalding returns to action Sunday afternoon when they travel to No. 3 St. Frances at 1 p.m. Glenelg Country hosts Gilman at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday.
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Glenelg Country — 12-12-13-10 — 47
Spalding — 4-12-10-20 — 46
GC — Curtin 25, Baker 7, Harris 7, Marshburn 2, Alford 4, Jok 2
AS — C. Busse 13, Bogard 7, Moultrie 8, Barrett 14, Lonergan 4