Ronnie Johnson scored 12 of his 22 points in the final period as No. 9 Annapolis (5-0) rallied from a 42-38 deficit to outscore No. 18 Mount St. Joseph, 27-8, in the last eight minutes to post a 65-50 victory over the visiting Gaels (4-2).
Johnson, the Panthers' 6-foot-2 senior forward, hit four field goals and made four of five from the line in the last period.
"I woke up and said, 'Hey, guys we're not scoring and we're not scoring because we're not getting the ball to Ronnie,' " said coach John Brady.
"Then, I made a great coaching move and said, 'Get it to Ronnie guys.' "
Mount St. Joseph prevented Annapolis from running and played a methodical game through the first half with the Panthers
holding a 30-23 lead. Then, the Gaels, with Daniel Whye scoring eight of his team-high 20 points, went on a 19-8 run in the third period to take a four-point lead into the final period.
"I was not happy at all with the pace they got us into. Credit Pat [Clatchey, the Gaels' coach] for that," said Brady. "Ronnie didn't score in the third period and they took a four-point lead."
Annapolis held a 53-44 lead with 3:42 remaining and boosted it to 11 points with 3:12 left on a layup by 6-7 sophomore Germaine Diggs (four points), who was playing for the first time after breaking his arm before the season.
A free throw on the front end of two with 3:06 left by Daniel Whye cut the Annapolis lead to 10, but subsequent free throws by the Panthers' John Downs and Len Barber pushed it up to 12 at 57-45 with 1:30 left and pretty much iced it.
Clatchey had his Gaels giving fouls with Whye tossing in a three-pointer in the last minute and a half to make it 57-45, but the Panthers would not give in and hit eight of 11 from the line in the last 1:09 to stay ahead.
Teshawn Cooper (five points, six assists), Ryan Dacey (eight points), Jerray Slocum and Len Barber made a pair each to keep the Panthers ahead.
A 25-for-37 accuracy at the line by the host Panthers was decisive with the Gaels sinking only five of 10.
"They were intentionally fouling in the last period and that's why it was such a discrepancy," said Brady.
Len Barber with 11 points and 10 rebounds was the only other Panther in double digits. Kyle Skinner and Cory McNeill chipped in with 13 and 11 points, respectively, for Mount St. Joseph.