Larry Jones made two free throws with 27 seconds to play, Tyon Harris added one more with one second left, and City College thwarted Joppatowne, 60-58, for the championship of the Joppatowne Holiday Tournament last night.
In successfully defending a title won a year ago, City (2-5) stopped a five-game losing streak with the two wins. The loss for the Mariners (4-2) ended a four-game winning run.
With only two players (no starters) back from last year's 10-10 squad, City had been having trouble working together as a team.
The Knights had used a 37-point third quarter as a springboard for Wednesday night's 90-70 first-round decision over Havre de Grace, but they never really got their running game in gear this time.
Joppatowne, featuring veterans Alonzo McDowell and Lamar Williams, stayed with the taller, quicker Baltimore City school all the way.
In the consolation game, Dundalk (6-2) rallied in the second half and defeated Havre de Grace, 59-57.
Two baskets and a foul shot by Harvey Dennie helped City to its widest lead, 36-29, with three minutes left in the third period, but the home team climbed back to a tie at 39.
Earlier, no more than three points had separated the two as they struggled through the first two quarters. City led at the end of each, 12-9, and 26-23.
Later, it was Joppatowne's turn to open some daylight.
A three-point basket by Nick Weber, three McDowell foul shots and a penetration basket by 5-foot-9 guard Randy Bishop helped stake the Mariners to their widest advantage, 50-44, with six minutes to go.
Two Dennie baskets led City back, and it got a tie at 53 on a basket by Harris at 4:10. The Knights were able to hold off the home side the rest of the way, although missed shots and turnovers led to some sloppy play -- as they had earlier -- in the final minutes.
Harris, a 6-4 junior center, was the high scorer for the champions with 18 points, followed by Steven Walker, a 5-11 guard, with 16.
Weber, in a shooting slump of late, had six of his team-high 13 points for Joppatowne, backed by McDowell, a 6-foot senior, and Williams, a 6-3 junior, with 12 each.
bTC In the consolation game, senior Jaquay Jackson scored 12 of his game-high 20 in the last quarter, as Dundalk made up an 11-point deficit in that segment. Another senior, Danny Thorpe, added 17.
Havre de Grace (4-3) had opened a 15-point lead during the first two quarters, and led at the half, 40-27. The Warriors then were restricted to 10 points in the third period and seven (two twos and a three) in the fourth.
Billy Jackson had 17 points for Havre de Grace, backed by Ardia White, 12, and Jack Donaldson, 11.
Dundalk coach Andy Pons has a 15-player squad and, as he said, it took awhile to get the right combination playing together.
Still, he used the event as a learning process, and in one of the games, started five who had not started before.