Arundel boys basketball beats Severna Park in overtime, 61-59, to open playoffs

In Arundel freshman Ellis Johnson’s reality, Severna Park boys basketball squashed several attempted Wildcat rallies.

In his head, there were trees.

In high-stress games, he thinks back to the patch of woods by Arundel’s gym, where his team meets to find their peace. So, even when the Wildcats failed to secure the lead in the third and fourth quarters of Friday’s Class 3A East Region I quarterfinal, Johnson did not worry.

Down one with nine seconds left, Arundel sent Severna Park to the line for two shots that could’ve been a fatal blow to Arundel’s season. But when senior Charlie Hartman’s second shot bounced off the rim and into Wildcat Javeon Reed’s hands, Johnson knew Arundel was not going to lose.

In the end, they would advance with a 61-59 road win.

“We had fight in us,” Johnson said. “When the ball came to me, I knew.”

The freshman took Reed’s pass and hit the tying shot just before the buzzer to force overtime, tied at 51. His actions transformed Arundel into the team it knew it could be.

A minute into overtime, Samson Anjorin sunk a 3-pointer for Arundel’s first lead since Keaghan Gorski gave Severna Park the lead with a 3-pointer just before halftime.

Arundel senior Phoenix Eggleston drove for two layups, then spent the rest of the time bodying the Falcons away from making baskets.

“It’s good to have him back,” Arundel coach Rodney Ramsey said. “He made a big difference.”

Arundel had yet to control the tempo of the game. The first and second quarters belonged to no one, a back-and-forth seesaw that bred a one-point Arundel lead at the end of the first and a three-point Falcons lead at the end of the second. From then on, the Falcons ruled the floor.

Arundel’s Ellis Johnson hits a basket near the end of the fourth quarter, tying it at 51, to send it to overtime. The visiting Arundel Wildcats defeated the Severna Park Falcons, 61-59, in overtime, to win a MPSSAA Class 3A East Region quarterfinal. (Paul W. Gillespie/Staff)

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The Wildcats had every possible chance to put distance between themselves and their hosts and squandered them. Arundel missed 15 free throws Friday, predominantly in the second half.

Severna Park didn’t even need to score much. As intense as the scuffles for rebounds and 50-50 balls were, the Falcons padded their lead intermittently, seemingly only when they absolutely needed to.

Arundel inched within a point of claiming the lead nine times in the second half. Every time, the Falcons would yank the opportunity away with a basket. Hartman largely led the charge, capping the third frame with his third 3-pointer.

Johnson’s savior act at the end of the fourth wasn’t his only one. Three minutes into the four-minute overtime, Severna Park closed the gap to 58-56. Though Arundel prevented the Falcons from scoring for a bit, they had already proven they could arrange a lead change.

Johnson ensured they did not.

“Ellis has played big time in big games before. This is nothing new to him,” Ramsey said. “He just settled down.”

Arundel’s next bus ride is a long and heavy one. Year after year, Stephen Decatur welcomes Anne Arundel teams for region matchups and sends them home empty-handed.

Ramsey can’t help but feel excited. He’s wanted to see first-hand what the Eastern Shore’s Seahawks “were all about.”

“We had mental hiccups in this game. We’ll clean it up,” he said. “I think if we focus, we’re gonna give them a battle.”

ARUNDEL — 13 13 13 12 10 — 61

SEVERNA PARK — 12 17 13 9 8 — 59

AR: Phoenix Eggleston 22, Ellis Johnson 17, Samson Anjorin 12, Javeon Reed 9, Alex M 4,

SP: Charlie Hartman 18, Keaghan Gorski 11, Dash Havens 6, Garrett Moden 6, Ozzy Jones 6, Xavier Marshall 5, Kellen Decker 2

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