North Carroll junior guard Scott Hensley was ready and willing to be the hero last night. And then Centennial's Denny Chapman stole the show.
The Eagles sophomore took up where he left off the day before with some clutch offense down the stretch to give Centennial a 74-69 win over the Panthers in the finals of the North Carroll Holiday Tournament.
Hensley (26 points) was hitting from everywhere in the fourth quarter and when he hit a three and was fouled with 3:13 left, it gave the Panthers a 65-62 lead.
Then came Chapman, who scored at the buzzer Tuesday against Fallston to send the Eagles to the championship round.
With Centennial down 66-64 with 1:30 left, Chapman hit a three-pointer and then stole the inbound and converted it into a layup to give the Eagles a 69-66 lead.
He closed out the scoring with a pair of free throws in the final seconds to clinch the tournament title.
Chapman finished the night with 21 and tournament MVP Doug Ulman scored 25 to go along with a fine all-around game at point guard to lead the Eagles.
"We don't quit and do what we have to do to win games," said Centennial coach Jim Hill.
"Doug provided us with the senior leadership and showed us the way. Denny is a blossoming sophomore whose talent is really beginning to manifest."
North Carroll took a 24-17 lead after one and went in with a 37-36 lead at the half on a steal and lay-in from Ryan Bowles.
Centennial answered with a 19-point third quarter to take a 55-51 lead after three when all the fun began.
Hensley scored 11 of North Carroll first 13 points in the fourth quarter. He started with a putback, hit a pair of jumpers and scored on a runner to give the Panthers a 61-60 lead with under four minutes left. It was the fourth lead change in the quarter with the Eagles answering with an Ulman drive and a leaner from Brock Yet so, who finished the night with 10.
The Panthers appeared poised to take the tournament after Hensley's four-point play gave them a 65-62 lead, but the Eagles came right back.
After North Carroll's Jason Gelbo increased the lead to 66-62 with one free throw, Yetso scored off an offensive rebound to cut the lead to two and Chapman then got started with his three to give the Eagles the lead for good.
Fallston took third place with a 91-85 win over Francis Scott Key in the consolation game.
Key rallied midway through the fourth quarter behind a pair of three-pointers by Robbie Green -- cutting the Fallston lead to 81-80 -- but the Cougars preserved the win with late free throws.
Kemess Kelly scored 27 to lead the Cougars with Jud Ryan adding 22 in the win.
Key got a 30-point effort from Topher Casserly and 25 from Steve Wright.
Kelly and Wright were both selected to the all-tournament team with North Carroll's Jason Gelb -- 22 points in the win against Key on Tuesday -- and Centennial's Chapman and Ulman.