In a battle of match-up zones, defense was the name of the game right down to the last shot at Glenelg yesterday.
Bel Air's best shooter, Bill Greenwell, took that last shot, but missed from deep in the left corner.
Glenelg (3-0) breathed a collective sigh of relief and accepted the 55-54 victory.
Glenelg was ahead the entire game -- since it sank three of its first four shots -- all three of them three-pointers. It led, 9-0.
With two minutes to play, Glenelg still had that nine-point lead, 54-45.
But that's when Bel Air's Dave Ungham (nine points), who didn't start, made things exciting by scoring seven of Bel Air's last nine points and making a steal on an inbounds pass with four seconds left.
Ungham began his run by sinking a deep shot -- with just one foot inside the three-point arc, to cut it to 54-47. Then Glenelg missed its second straight one-and-one with 1:20 left.
Ungham buried a three-pointer with 50 seconds left to make it 54-50.
Glenelg's Andrew Williamson sank a free throw -- the Gladiators' only point in the final two minutes.
But Ungham sank two free throws cutting the lead to 55-52.
Glenelg turned it over on an inbounds play, but Earl Frazier (20 points) stole the ball back for the Gladiators. He missed a one-and-one with 42 seconds left, however.
Ungham forced up a shot from three-point range and missed, but Glenelg turned it over again -- one of 25 Gladiator turnovers. Bel Air made 24 turnovers.
This time Bel Air's center, Tom Soltis, a transfer from Calvert Hall, scored off a rebound with six seconds left to make it a one-point game.
Glenelg, which struggled on inbounds plays much of the game, turned it over again when Ungham stole the toss in and bounced it off Frazier and out of bounds with four seconds left.
Bel Air (1-2) then worked the ball to Greenwell, who had a chance to win it.
"They did a nice job of pressuring us," Glenelg coach Klaude Krannebitter said. "We worked against the match-up zone in practice, but we had no intensity in practice the last two days."
Glenelg, which plays with three guards and two forwards, also was missing its biggest player, 6-foot-4 forward David Alexander, who was sidelined by the flu.
"Our big guy anchors us and with him out Damien Miles had to play the No. 4 spot when he's really a No. 3," Krannebitter said.
The Gladiators nearly lost the game at the foul line, sinking just eight of 19 free throws and missing three one-and-ones down the stretch. After shooting 12-for-23 from the field in the first half, Glenelg's shot 10-for-26 in the second half.
Bel Air's defense stiffened in the second half but Glenelg also hurt itself with several walking violations.
Bel Air struggled offensively the entire game against Glenelg's pressure, shooting 21-for-63 from the field, 8-for-28 in the first half.