Intensity.
It drove Meade boys basketball to 15 straight wins and an untarnished county record going into the last week of the regular season. It earned them yet another win, 68-65 over Old Mill on Tuesday, and the regular season county title.
But it had been substituted with apathy for the first half Tuesday against the Patriots.
“We talked about competing and playing hard at halftime. We said, we have a chance to win our first championship tonight,” Mustangs coach Mike Glick said after his team improved to 18-3 overall and 12-0 in Anne Arundel County. “And that’s really important.”
Brian Poore gave the Patriots the lead at the end of the first quarter. By the end of the third, the Mustangs’ deficit grew to 10.
Intensity, sophomore Keon Scott thought. Then, he ripped the ball away from Old Mill (16-3, 9-2).
He’d just whittled the Patriots’ lead down to three with a make from the perimeter, but relying solely on the outside is what shoved Meade into a hole in the first place. So, Scott stole the ball clean and battled his way to the net, cutting the Patriots’ lead to a point at 56-55.
Old Mill tried to respond, just as it did so many times already. Instead, the shot rattled the rim. Mustangs junior Arouna Soumaoro pulled down the rebound and passed to Scott.
The sophomore saw Ashton Turman racing head. Just as Turman crossed mid-court, Scott fed him the ball. Turman, already several steps ahead of two Patriots guards, slammed the lead-changing basket.
“We had to come out with that intensity,” Scott said. “We had to come out in transition, just get boards and play defense.”
Old Mill would not crumble. Junior Bryce Daugherty had been kept away from the 3-point line he loved so much — and the shots he easily made in the first half. So, he stormed to the basket, giving his Patriots the lead back.
Neither side got any separation during a high-speed back-and-forth session. Scott and his Mustangs had given their intensity. It was time to slow it down.
Up only 64-62, Glick screamed to Scott repeatedly, “Hold the ball.” Down to 25 seconds, Scott carefully protected the ball. Just before the shot clock expired, he drove to the basket, drawing four Old Mill players crashing into him. Scott calmly hit both foul shots.
“He’s a special player beyond his years,” Glick said. “We feel he’s not only the best on our team, but one of the best in the state, and he’s been too docile at times. We’ve been challenging him all season to take over, and he responded.”
And still, as the clock ticked down to its final seconds, Old Mill was not finished.
Senior Jaeden Simms’ first 3-pointer beat the first-quarter buzzer and set the tone for most of the night. This on cut Meade’s lead to one.
The Mustangs had 16 seconds to protect its lead. Scott hit two more foul shots to push the lead back to three.
Old Mill coach Greg Smith motioned for a timeout. There were 12.9 seconds remaining in a one-possession game. Threes had won Old Mill so many games this year and it already dropped six in the game.
But the defense that had worked so well for Meade in the fourth quarter locked Old Mill down one last time. At halftime, the Mustangs switched to a 1-2-2 full-court zone press, which lessened Old Mill’s second-half scoring and created more turnovers. Meade’s offense sprung from it.
“Our defense really was our offense in the second half,” Scott said.
Patriots junior Zay Brown raced down the floor and looked for Poore, but by the time he got the ball to him, Meade senior James Johnson was already on him and the clock expired.
The loss drops Old Mill into a tie for second in with North County. The two play Thursday night with the winner facing Meade in the county championship.
Meade — 13 14 13 28 — 68
Old Mill — 16 19 15 15 — 65
ME: Keon Scott 24, Ashton Turman 13, Arouna Soumaoro 11, Lucaya Baldridge 6, James Johnson 5, Alijah Johnson 4, Kenny Lipscomb 3, Isaiah Matthews 2
NC: Jaeden Simms 22, Brian Poore 19, Bryce Daugherty 10, Makel Wilder 6, Shaun Tyler 5, Zay Brown 2, Ryan Goughenour 1
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