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It was a tale of two halves for Atholton on Wednesday against Westminster.
Following a 9-39 shooting effort in the first half, the Raiders found themselves in a 26-20 hole at halftime against the Owls. But by sticking with the game plan and upping the defensive pressure, Atholton regrouped to shoot over 50 percent from the floor over the final 16 minutes and pull out a 56-50 victory.
"We were only six points down after missing at least 10 to 15 lay-ups in that first half, so we told the guys if you keep working to get those they are eventually going to fall," Atholton coach Jim Albert said. "Our defense and our ability to push the ball up the floor were the difference in the second half."
The win improves the Raiders to 6-2 overall on the season and puts them in the championship game of the Patriot Classic on Thursday against either Sparrows Point or host Patapsco.
Atholton was getting quality looks in the early stages against Westminster, but watched as shot after shot rimmed out. The Owls took advantage, holding a 10-8 lead after the first quarter and building a lead as large as eight points in the second.
At the half, it was a 26-20 Westminster lead and Atholton's leading scorer on the season, Gavin Stephenson, had just two points.
Things got worse for the Raiders to begin the second half, with Westminster scoring back-to-back baskets to up the lead to 30-20.
However that's when Atholton intensified the pressure and began finding its rhythm. Brian McMahon (13 points and 8 rebounds) started things with a three-point play and the combination of Stephenson (20 points) and Darren Fitzpatrick kept it going in what ended up being a 16-2 Raider run to grab the lead.
By the end of the quarter, Atholton had come up with nine steals and established a 43-37 cushion.
"It was one of those things where we just had to trust the game plan and believe in ourselves," Stephenson said. "We settled down and started to play our game."
Westminster did make a couple runs in the final quarter, getting back within one on two different occasions, but ultimately the Owls never managed to retake the lead. Dalton Myers ended up leading Westminster with 12 points and 8 rebounds.
With three wins in a row now, Albert is hoping his squad can simply keep the momentum going.
"It's still kind of like a work in progress, but you can definitely see us starting to put some things together," Albert said.
Atholton 56, Westminster 50
A (4-2, 6-2): Stephenson 20, McMahon 13, Fitzpatrick 5, Haas 4, Shapiro 4, Courtney 4, Florenzo 2, Bezold 2, Acker 2.
W (5-2): Myers 12, Dudley 12, Ellison 9, Kern 7, Rhoten 5, Meads 3, Clifton 2.
Half: 26-20 W.
Other scores:
Oakland Mills 68, South River 46
OM (2-4, 3-5): Manns 33, Dent 10, N. Zayatz 8, Bradley 6, Lee 6, Madden-Stricker 3, Riss 2.
