Two years ago, when Catonsville hosted Lansdowne, the Comets won 58-50 in overtime and Greg Scarborough was a sophomore who came off the bench for the Vikings and tied the game with 40 seconds left to send the game into the extra session.
Scarborough is now a senior captain and he was probably expecting another overtime on Friday night.
But, with two seconds left in regulation and the game tied at 59-59, the Comets had the all just over halfcourt, but they couldn’t get the ball inbounds, so they called a time out.
The problem was, they didn’t have any timeouts so they were charged with a technical foul, giving Lansdowne two free throws and the ball.
Teddy Wilson sunk the second free throw for a 60-59 lead with two seconds left and Scarborough added two free throws with one tick reamioning to give the Vikings a 62-59 victory.
“I’m so happy to beat Catonsville,”said Scarborough, who led the Vikings with 17 points.
Wilson, also a senior captain, finished with 16 points.
The Vikings improved to 7-1 with the victory and the loss evened the Comets record at 4-4.
“Those guys [Scarborough and Wilson] showed up locked in as seniors,” Lansdowne coach Greg Karpers said.“They want it and I never get on them about bringing the energy, they got it every day and everyone else takes the lead from those two guys.”
Like Wilson and Scarborough, Lansdowne junior Chris Jones proved he could make clutch free throws.
Jones connected on two free throws with nine seconds left to tie the game at 59-59.
“That was huge,”Karpers said. “It’s hard stepping to the line at that point.”
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Shooting meaningful free throws seemed to be a long shot for the Vikings in the first quarter when coach Teron Owens’ Comets raced to a 20-5 lead.
Amori Guadeloupe sparked the early surge for the Comets with eight of the their first 16 points.
Lansdowne rallied after four straight free throws by Wilson and a dunk from Scarborough that ignited the comeback and cut the lead to nine, 23-14, at the end of the quarter.
“These guys continue to work hard every day. They never quit,”Karpers said. “We were down 20-5 in a tough environment and they never hung their heads.”
With both teams playing tight man-to-man defense, Lansdowne continued penetrating to the basket and creating opportunities and they rallied to take a 35-30 lead at halftime.
The Vikings held the Comets to just seven points in the second quarter.
They came on a three-pointer by Jalen Jones and baskets by Shawn Wagstaff and Guadeloupe.
Guadeloupe’s basket with 11 seconds in the half was the 10th of his 11 points in the game.
Wagstaff was just heating up.
After scoring eight points in the first half, the Comet senior scored 12 in the second half for a game-high 20 points.
“He [Wagstaff] was definitely carrying them and he brought them back and they got the lead,”Karpers said.
After Caleb Owens (12 points) made a three-pointer, Wagstaff tied it at 42-42 on a left-handed layup with 3:06 left in the third quarter.
Lansdowne responded with five straight points by Scarborough, including a three-pointer, for a 47-42 lead.
In the fourth quarter, the Vikings maintained a 52-47 lead after two free throws by James Davis with 4:18 left, but the Comets stormed back on a putback by Owens and three-point play by Mark Chambers, tying the game at 52-52 with 3:40 left.
A three-pointer by Jerald Hurt was answered with a pair of baskets from Wagstaff and the Comets led 56-55 with 2:56 remaining.
Wilson’s assist to Jones put the Vikings in front, 57-56, with 1:57 left, but the Comets regained the lead, 59-57 after a three-pointer by Deonta Dunlap with 1:10 left.
That was the last points the Comets would get and the Vikings closed out the game with five free throws.
Scarborough chalked up the Vikings victory to his team’s constant motor. “It’s the energy on my team,” Scarborough said. “We all communicate well and if we all come out hard to play, we are going to come out with a win.”
Coach Karpers agreed.
“They bring it every day. I never have to worry if they are going to be ready to play,” he said. “They show up every day, practice, same way.”