Their prolific scorer didn’t make a field goal in the second half and had just six points.
That should have been a legitimate reason to keep the Friends Quakers boys basketball team from beating visiting Glenelg Country.
It wasn’t.
Sophomore shooting guard Ross Jones came through with a season-high 17 points to help offset a subpar offensive night by sophomore forward Myles Douglas (averages 24 points per game) in the Quakers’ 56-54 victory over the Dragons.
Senior guard Jihar Williams added 14 points for the winners, including scoring nine in the third quarter.
“He scored some points for us last year, but we have more talent this year so he didn’t have to score as much,” Friends coach Al Holley said of Jones, who sank three free throws in the last minute. “But this is what he is capable of doing and he was a big reason why we won the game.”
Glenelg Country had two players score in double figures: 6-foot-9, 220-pound sophomore forward Anthony Longpre (14 points) and senior guard Darryl Williams (10 points).
“Darryl is a very tough defender and we put him on Myles,” Glenelg Country coach Kevin Quinlan said. “I thought Darryl did a really good job on Myles, but I thought Myles did a good job of getting his teammates involved.”
The victory was significant for the Quakers, who play in the Maryland Interscholastic Athletic Association B Conference.
Glenelg County (9-6) competes in the A Conference.
“They have had a lot of lean years,” Holley said. “It’s been a while since they have had a win like this.”
Friends (8-8) rallied in the second half.
Glenelg Country went ahead 31-23 with 7:08 remaining in the third quarter on a Williams’ layup.
The Quakers, however, used a 17-6 run over the next 4:48 to take a 40-37 advantage.
They also led by three points at the end of the third quarter.
Friends had its biggest lead, 53-47, when Tyler Badie drained a three-pointer with 2:31 remaining.
Then 12 seconds later, Matthew Bernetti answered with a three-pointer.
After Douglas missed the front end of a 1-and-1 free throw, the Dragons rebounded the ball, but turned it over right away.
Jones sank two free throws to give the Quakers a 55-50 advantage with 37 seconds left.
C.J. Wilson made a layup 14 seconds later to cut the deficit to 55-52.
Williams quickly fouled Randy Gregory, who put up an air ball on a free throw to give it back to Glenelg Country.
Longpre fired up a potential tying shot with five seconds to go, but it went off the front of the rim. The Dragons rebounded the ball, but turned it over.
Jones converted one of two free throws to make it 56-52.
Wilson hit a jumper right inside the three-point line at the buzzer, and a Friends’ celebration followed.
“We had a few turnovers at the end,” said Quinlan, whose team shot 46 percent (18-for-39) from the field. “You can’t afford to do that in heated battle like this.”
Friends 56 Glenelg Country 54
F: Jones 17, Williams 14, Gomes 9, Douglas 6, Gregory 4, Badie 3, Wheeler 2, Filer 1.
GC: Longpre 14, Williams, 10, Bernetti 9, Hightower 9, Wilson 8, Walsh 2, Tverijonas 2.
Half: 26-23 GC.