C. Milton Wright made five of six free throws in the final 18.9 seconds Friday night to lock up the UCBAC Chesapeake Division boys basketball title. The free throws led the Mustangs (10-0, 17-1) past the home-standing Joppatowne Mariners (8-2, 15-3), 61-56.
Will Hazelton, who was six-for-six at the line in the fourth quarter, made good on two of them with 18.9 seconds left.
"I've been working on my free throws, my free throws were kind of terrible at the beginning of the season, so I have been working on them and they're just getting better," Hazelton said after the game. "We got together at the end, we pulled through, played as a team. We came hard, we played hard and we won the game."
While Hazelton was able to push the Mustangs ahead, the opportunity was made possible by teammate Kyle Harkins, whose only basket, a three-pointer, tied the game at 56 all with less than 1:30 to play.
Joppatowne had possession with 1:09 left, but Montrell Horsey was called for a charge. The Mustangs took possession and ran the clock down until Hazelton was sent to the line.
Trailing 58-56, Joppatowne had another shot at a tie, but Dominic Smith missed both free throws with 10.9 left.
CMW's Corey Bays (22 points) grabbed the rebound and he was fouled with 9.4 seconds left. Bays made the first and missed the second. The rebound was bounced around and Bays alertly grabbed control and was sent back the line with 8.0 seconds left. He made both to end the scoring.
Joppatowne squandered a lead that was as much as seven (31-24) in the third quarter. Jermaine Head Jr. was a major part of that, scoring five straight and finishing with seven in the quarter. He fouled out with 18 seconds left, but led the Mariners with 13 points.
The Mariners, who trailed 27-26 at half, took a 44-38 lead into the fourth quarter. Two baskets (Mychal Stefanides and Bays) and Hazelton's first two free throws erased the Mariners advantage.
"It's a real happy result," CMW coach Jon Stefanides said. "Even if we would have lost tonight, those boys played hard tonight and I was proud of them no matter what happened and some of the big players stepped up big at the big times tonight and that's why we won."
Stefanides, the player, finished with 14 points and Hazelton added 13. Horsey, Smith and Rashard Gore scored 10 points each for the Mariners. Fortune Okeigweigh added nine points.
Final numbers from the free throw line; CMW, 14-for-20; Joppatowne, 15-for-25.
Warriors beat Cougars
A night after a big division win, Havre de Grace (16-3) hosted Fallston (3-15) in non-division action and won, 58-51.
Krs Yancy led the winners with 23 points, five rebounds and five assists. Zayrron Blake pulled down 10 rebounds and Jordan Hawthorne dished out seven assists.
Warriors lead Susquehanna
Havre de Grace grabbed sole possession of the Susquehanna Division lead Thursday night, edging visiting Perryville, 52-51.
Havre de Grace held a 49-43 lead with less than three minutes to play. Perryville (8-3) cut the lead to two, 49-47, but the Warriors (9-2) added a basket and one free throw in the final two minutes to hold on.
Perryville had a chance to tie with 0.7 seconds left, but a miss and make on two free throws allowed Havre de Grace to inbound the ball and celebrate.
Jordan Hawthorne led Havre de Grace with 17 points, while Krs Yancy scored 16. Zayrron Blake added the double-double of 12 points and 15 rebounds.
Tyrell Hollingsworth had a solid game for the Panthers, with 16 points, 11 rebounds, two steals, three blocks and two assists. Tyleke Johnson added 16 points, nine rebounds, two steals and two blocks and Tony Smith finished with 11 points.
Rams beat Hawks
Edgewood (10-7) went on the road to North Harford (8-11) Thursday and won, 52-49, in an non-division game.
The Rams were led by Tyrone McKisset, who tossed in 22 points. Donavin Tilley netted eight points and six steals and David Velasquez contributed seven points for the Rams.
North Harford had the ball, down 50-49 with 11 seconds left, but turned it over. The Hawks then had a chance to tie, but their three-point shot as time expired was off the mark. Zach Stike scored a career-high 26 points for North Harford.
Huskies get win
Patterson Mill (8-10) grabbed a non-league win as well Thursday, beating visiting NAF, 38-29.
Rahmon Felder led the Huskies with 19 points, while Brad Burris added 12.
HCS wins big
On Senior Night, Harford Christian took on conference opponent Carroll Christian Thursday and won in a rout, 96-11. Every player on the roster scored for Harford Christian and in their last regular season home game of their careers, Sean Hughes and Paul Franco went out with a win.
HCS was led by Hughes' 23 points, 12 steals, seven rebounds and five assists. Moe Epps added 22 points, 12 steals and 10 assists. Rashawn Clowney chipped in 14 points. Rashawd Clowney contributed 10 points and seven rebounds. Paul Franco added eight points, six steals and five rebounds.
Harford Christian traveled to Calvary Baptist for the final regular season game of the season on Friday. The Eagles started slow with Calvary jumping out to a 22-12 lead, midway through the second quarter, but HCS picked up the play and outscored Calvary 54-24 the rest of the game to win by the final score of 66-46.
Hughes broke the HCS men's basketball single-game scoring record with 45 points to go along with 13 rebounds, nine steals and five assists. Epps added nine points, nine assists and six blocks. Rashawd Clowney chipped in eight points, seven boards and seven steals.
HCS is 20-8 on the year and a perfect 9-0 in-conference. HCS has secured the top seed heading into conference playoffs next week.
Other Thursday scores
Harford Tech (9-3, 13-7) chalked up another Susquehanna win, topping visiting Bo Manor, 45-41.
Tech led 22-20 at half.Fred Gordon led the Cobras with 15 points.Hunter Norcross added 10 points and 17 rebounds andDashawn Lucas scored nine points.
Also, John Carroll (25-6) was eliminated in MIAA A Conference semifinal action at Calvert Hall. The Patriots fell, 75-61.
Kimbal Mackenzie scored 26 points to lead all scorers and Kevin Kangu finished with 20 for John Carroll.