For the second time this season Howard and Atholton found themselves locked in a tight game and, just like in the first meeting, it was the Raiders who delivered the big plays to prevail down the stretch.
Atholton's Brandon Willis, who finished with a game-high 21 points, hit a driving lay-up in the closing seconds of regulation to force overtime and the Raiders used that momentum to then pull away in the extra period on the way to a 61-53 victory.
After leading just once during regulation, Atholton coach Jared Albert said the lift provided by Willis' late basket definitely carried over to help his team dominate the rest of the way.
"Obviously it is a big momentum boost when you hit a shot to tie it like that and take you into overtime, especially when we had been playing behind the whole game," Albert said. "I thought we fed off each other and it says a lot about our guys to battle like that. You would love for every game to win by 30, but against a tough team like Howard this is what it takes … toughness."
The win was the fourth straight for the Raiders on the heels of a lull that saw the team lose four or five.
Continuing the winning streak against the Lions took some resiliency. Howard jumped out to an 8-2 lead at the start and never trailed at any point during the first two quarters en route to a 28-20 advantage at the half.
Jared Noble (8 points, 8 rebounds) and George Greene (12 points) were the keys behind the hot start for the Lions.
"I didn't think we played as physical as Howard in the first half. We get beat on the boards, weren't moving our feet well defensively," Albert said. "The biggest thing we talked about at halftime was that we weren't doing what we normally do."
Atholton found some life, though, in the third quarter and Willis was in the middle of the comeback. The junior guard, who was held to just six points in the first half, scored nine in the third — including the final seven points of the quarter to tie the game at 38.
"Coach told us at the end of the first half that we needed to pick up the intensity," Willis said. "Second half we came out and did a great job of execution. We hustled on defense and made big plays."
The fourth quarter saw neither team lead by more than three points. Howard, following a made foul shot by DJ Dawkins (9 points), had a 50-48 lead with 15 seconds left. But Willis came down on the ensuing possession, dribbled through the Lions' defense and converted at the rim to extend the game.
"I had to make the big shot," Willis said. "I knew the ball was going to be in my hands, I just had to make a play."
In overtime, Atholton scored the first six points — on two free throws from Willis and a pair of made lay-ups by Cole Mason (11 points) — and never looked back.
Howard's only basket in the extra period was a three from Pat O'Malley.
"I told the guys that three things were going to be important in overtime: our defense, our rebounding and our communication. If we did those things then everything else would take care of itself," Albert said. "To give up three points in a four-minute span there was really crucial and I thought our guys really responded well overall to having to play three games in the last four days."
Atholton 61, Howard 53 OT
A (8-6, 10-7): Willis 21, Mason 11, Kelly 10, Carter 10, Rodgers 5, Mendelsohn 3, Roman 1.
Ho (6-8, 8-9): Greene 12, Savage 10, Dawkins 9, Noble 8, Shuart 6, O'Malley 6, Robinson 2.
Half: 28-20 Ho; Regulation: 50-50.
Other games:
Chapelgate 91, Heritage Christian 72
CCA (5-6, 12-12): Frierson 27, Grandy 26, Mitchell 15, Ball 12, Madden 7, Kilgour 3, Marvin 1.
HC: N. Fleming 17, Floyd 15, D. Fleming 14, Allen 10, Collins 7, Logan 4, Savage 3, Scott 2.
Half: 40-29 CCA.
Glenelg Country 63, Spalding 44
GC (4-11, 11-13): D. Williams 20, Walsh 14, Bernetti 12, Longpre 6, M. Williams 6, Hightower 3, Tverijonas 2.
S: Kane 20, Scaggs 8, Ashbeck 8, Schemmel 5, Anthony 3.
Half: 27-23 GC.
Gwynn Park 62, Glenelg 46
GP: I Miles 13, Crump 10, Kelly 10, Parker 9, White 9, P Miles 6, Wallace 3, Montiero 2.
G (4-9, 6-10): Napolitano 18, Hammert 12, Conners 11, Richardson 2, Wade 2, Koele 1.
Half: 30-29 GP.