Trailing by three midway in the final quarter last night, experienced No. 2 Dunbar appeared to be heading for defeat last night against an upstart No. 6 Southern-B.
But unlike last season when the Poets lost to the Bulldogs, Dunbar rose to the occasion, pulling out a 62-57 victory in the finale of the Fuel Fund Classic.
Senior forward Marvis Thornton scored 14 points to lead the Poets (4-0). Tommy Polley and Robert Foster each added 13. John Hemsley led Southern with 14.
The Poets trailed, 53-52, with 3:30 remaining, when Thornton followed up a miss by Foster, giving the Poets a 54-53 lead.
After forcing a Bulldog turnover, Jeryl Singletary banked a shot off the glass, extending the Poets' lead to 56-53. With 1:37 left, Billy Wells followed up his own miss, giving Dunbar a 58-53 lead.
Southern (1-3) pulled to within, 60-57, on a basket by Dedric Galloway with 16 seconds left, but two free throws by Singletary sealed the Poets' victory.
"We had to get the ball inside," said Polley, a 6-foot-5 junior. "We weren't doing that in the first half, taking wild shots. Our offense stayed patient. We remembered last year's loss and we didn't want a repeat."
Last season, Southern-B defeated the Poets, 72-71, at Coppin State and went on to finish ranked No. 2 in the country by USA Today.
Before an estimated crowd of 1,800 at UMBC Fieldhouse, that in cluded Maryland's Joe Smith, Duane Simpkins, Rodney Elliott and Keith Booth, the Poets exacted some revenge and gained some respect they felt they have lost.
The Poets had a 6-0 advantage within the first 90 seconds as they converted on three of their first four attempts from the field. Southern pulled to within 14-13 after a three-pointer by Marlon Wise.
Dunbar pushed the advantage back to 18-13 after two baskets by Marvis Thornton, before Hemsley followed a miss by Shawntay Barnes, making it 18-15 at the end of the quarter.
The Poets scored the first six of the second quarter to extend their lead to 24-15 with 5:10 remaining in the first half.
After Cornelius McMurray hit a three-pointer to pull Southern to within 24-18, Dunbar scored the next six to build a 30-18 cushion with 3:24 to play in the half.
The Bulldogs came right back, going on a 13-2 run to cut the margin to 32-31 with 51 seconds left. A free throw by Boone pushed the Poet lead to 33-31, but Southern would tie the game after a wild sequence.
After McMurray missed the front end of an one-and-one, Larry Alston grabbed the rebound for Dunbar. The ball was stolen by Wise by the foul line, then he found McMurray by the left wing of the three-point circle. McMurray's attempt bounced off the rim and right back to him and he converted a 15-footer at the buzzer.