The last time a highly ranked team from Baltimore faced one of the Washington area's top teams was in March when Southern-B defeated Crossland, then No. 1 in Washington, in the state 4A semifinals.
Last night, No. 4 Southwestern met Dunbar of Washington, ranked No. 2 in the D.C. area, at the Function in the Junction Mixer at Walbrook, with Dunbar coming away with a 77-66 victory.
Dunbar senior forward Michael Gill, who is heading for Pittsburgh, led all scorers with 27 points. Frank McQueen added 23.
Ernie Evans led Southwestern with 21 points, and Reginald Johnson contributed 15.
The Sabers had a 66-63 advantage with 2:30 remaining in regulation, but could not hold a lead as the Crimson Tide (4-1), ranked behind DeMatha, the nation's No. 1 team, scored the final 14 points.
"We've got kids who are so selfish that they want to score," said Southwestern coach Terry Leverette. "It's hard to win when you're not playing the team concept."
After taking the 66-63 lead, the Sabers (3-1) missed their final seven attempts from the field and turned the ball over twice.
Xavier Singletary gave Dunbar the lead at 67-66 with two free throws, then Gill scored the next six, pushing the lead to 73-66.
In other games, No. 5 Walbrook handled Largo, 81-57, and No. 3 St. Frances defeated No. 14 Edmondson, 63-47.
Alphonso Jones scored a game-high 23 points to lead St. Frances. Keon Chavez and Charles Beaufort each contributed 10 points.
Walbrook (3-1) received 22 points from Travone Broadway and 20 by Chris Reynolds in its victory over Largo of Prince George's County.
Today's agenda will be highlighted by St. Frances and South western, in a matchup of two of the area's top five programs at 6:15.
The host Warriors will take on Dunbar (D.C.) in the finale tonight at 7:45.