When visiting Franklin High cut a 15-point deficit to six points with 2:29 remaining in the game, Catonsville coach Matt Fannon had all four of his seniors on the court on Senior Night and he didn’t call time out and they didn’t flinch.
In the next 125 seconds, Catonsville went on a 10-0 run and turned a 51-45 lead into a 61-45 bulge on the way to a 61-47 victory.
The Comets improved to 12-7 overall and 8-1 in the league. They remain in control of their destiny in their bid to represent Division II in the Baltimore County championship game.
Catonsville has to beat Woodlawn, unbeaten in league play, on Feb. 18, and Western Tech, on the road on Feb. 20, to make the county title clash.
Coach Fannon is confident in his entire squad, especially the veterans down the stretch.
"We always talk about time and clock, so when we do build that lead, especially in the fourth quarter, they have to be patient and let things come to you," Fannon said. "I thought we did a great job of that."
Franklin (11-6) trailed 51-36, but got seven points in a 9-0 run from Marcus Dixon (game-high 30 points) to cut the deficit to six before the Comets answered the bell.
Senior Antwan Pearson (16 points, 8 rebounds) made it 53-45 and senior Musa Wichhart (9 points, 6 rebounds) stole the ball and assisted Zach Caslin for a three-pointer and 56-45 lead with 1:40 remaining.
Pearson's short jumper, steal and coast to coast fast-break layup and free throw completed the 10-point surge.
Seniors Brannon Johnson and Jeff Sewell were instrumental in beating the Franklin defense with slick ball-handling.
"That's my job to set up my teammates and make everybody else around me better," said Johnson, who had four points points in the third quarter when the Comets extended a three-point halftime lead to 11 by the end of the quarter.
Eric Sheppard (8 points) hit two three-pointers to help the Comets lead 26-23 at halftime.
Sewell had four points in the second half and was key along with Jamal Johnson (7 points) in forcing the Indians into six turnovers off the press in the third quarter.
The 6-foot-6 inch Pearson, who had a half-dozen blocked shots, had two in the first two minutes of the second half to stop the Indians penetration.
Sophomore Ross Kidd came off the bench and grabbed five rebounds and scored four points in limited minutes late in the third quarter and early in the fourth.
"He's really stepping up and growing this season," Fannon said. "We are happy to see him grab the boards and contribute on the offense."
Pearson, Wichhart (6-5) and Kidd (6-6) forced the Indians to go outside in the second half and Dixon was the only one converting from the perimeter.
He was held to three free throws in the third quarter, but scored 13 of his team's 15 points in the fourth quarter.
"We knew coming into the game no. 14 (Dixon) was their shooter," Fannon said. "We saw him knock down 12 points at Perry Hall in the first quarter, so we knew he was going to get hot, so that was our goal, shut down 14 and contest the other guards."
And when Dixon got hot and made it close towards the end, Fannon refrained from a time out to ice him down and let his seniors take care of business.
"Sometimes you need to take a time out to cool them off and other times you've just got to go with the flow and see if they can handle it," Fannon said. "As seniors, you see if they can respond to that and I think they did a really good job of that."