Only 2.4 seconds separated Northeast boys basketball from the Class 3A state semifinals, and senior Cam Albury leaned into Shamar Johnson to tell him he could miss a free throw if he wanted.
For four quarters, the Eagles and visiting Patterson engaged in a brutal war, rarely more than a couple possessions separating the teams.
But Albury trusted Johnson. Just one free throw would put Patterson to rest and secure the Eagles’ win for good. The foul had already accomplished one of their goals, knocking Clippers star Sincere Barfield with a fifth foul.
So, Johnson hit one and let the other strike the rim. The clock sounded closing out Northeast’s 69-65 win, and the 2023-24 Eagles, the same little 13-year-olds that watched the 2020 team win this state quarterfinal, had finally made it.
Northeast advances to face Long Reach next week at a time, date and location to be determined.
“We all worked for this. Going back to sixth, seventh grade and on — this is a dream come true,” Jadyss Fifer said. “Even though job’s not finished, seeing the older team do it? It’s our turn.”
Northeast only let the lead slip briefly in a chaotic fourth quarter. Patterson guard Celly Dobbins’ 3-pointer was quickly matched by one of Fifer’s. But Patterson never let it shield itself with more than a possession or two, either.
“Hey,” Northeast coach Roger O’Dea told his team. “Don’t forget what we came here for. We’re on a mission. We know we had angels on our shoulders.”
Fouls crept up on Eagles like Fifer and Chase Buttry, but they played blind to their own vulnerability.
Buttry, “the glue guy,” fired with two seconds left on the shot clock over Caleb Burgess’ towering arm for a 62-59 lead. When Burgess and Barfield countered, Ryan Stacy and Johnson came right back. There was nothing Patterson could do that Northeast couldn’t match.
Up 65-63 with 46.8 on the board, Northeast attempted two inbounds, and both were blockaded by furious Clippers, triggering two quick timeouts. But the Eagles were familiar with those traps, seeing them throughout county play. By now, Northeast had almost as many options for inbounding the ball as it did game plans.
“Patterson’s a team that likes to double team,” Albury said, “and come run at you fast. We used our timeouts well. We didn’t turn the ball over and we adjusted to their full-court press easily.”
Forty seconds left, Northeast felt a little surprised Patterson didn’t press as high, so Albury and Stacy countered back-and-forth instead. Johnson’s shot was denied; Fifer chased the loose ball. This was the way to stop Patterson, by hunting every single winnable ball down.
“We knew going into the game we got Shamar, we got Jadyss, we got Chase — we’re gonna outrebound them,” Stacy said.
That was a pretty good way to draw fouls, too.
In the first half, Northeast opposed bombs from Dobbins and Barfield by scoring their own, yes, but also by hitting 5-for-6 from the foul line and putting key figures like Amare Carr and Barfield in danger.
Barfield carried Patterson through the final, winnable minutes. The senior guard, who played for Class 4A state champion Parkville last season, struck seven of the last nine Clippers points, totaling 27. But with four fouls on his back, the Eagles could feel his bravery at the basket lessening.
“Every game we watched, he had three fouls first quarter, maybe four first half. Seeing him not have any going into the second quarter, we had to get him into foul trouble,” Fifer said. “So, that’s what we did.”
It’s what saved Northeast at the end, too. Fifer hit his free throw, as did Albury. The cushion was enough when Barfield scored back.
“We preach free throws win ballgames; layups win ballgames,” O’Dea said. “And we knew coming down in this game, playing a Baltimore City team, that it was gonna be a dogfight to the end. Every game I’ve watched with them, no matter if they’re winning or losing at the end, they scrap.”
Northeast nearly allowed Patterson to carry a lead into halftime, an edge the Clippers could’ve fueled some second-half momentum with. But Albury didn’t allow it. He yanked the visitors back, plucking an ill-protected ball for a layup that sent the game into halftime deadlocked at 34, before storming in the third quarter.
The senior guard rattled off 11 points in under five minutes. Patterson would piece together six-straight points in the third, two-straight 3-pointers in the fourth. But not one Clipper could match Albury quite like that. Northeast subbed in and out constantly, focused on breaking the Clippers up. They felt Patterson speeding up, Fifer said, but knew they didn’t need to.
“We used their aggressiveness against them,” Stacy said. “We stayed calm and got the ball up the court.”
His teammates thanked him for it. Albury fed Fifer for his second dunk of the night, just for the swingman to turn around and stick back Albury’s blocked shot for a basket. Johnson joined them; they eked out over Patterson 48-46 after three.
“I got my trust in all of them,” Albury said. “I never gotta worry about that.”
Northeast — 19 15 14 21 — 69
Patterson — 14 20 12 19 — 65
NE: Johnson 18, Albury 16, Fifer 14, Buttry 10, Stacy 8, Simeona 3
PAT: Barfield 27, Dobbins 16, C. Burgess 8, T. Burgess 8, Carr 4, Roberts 2