Because of a sprained ankle, Atholton Raiders guard Brian Benden did not play against the Mount Hebron Vikings last season. That was lucky for the Vikings, who beat the Raiders twice and shared the county title with them.
In both victories Mount Hebron guard Kurt Jestes had big games -- 22 and 26 points.
Yesterday, with Benden guarding him, Jestes was held to eight points and that enabled No. 14 Atholton to upset No. 13 Mount Hebron, 63-53.
Mount Hebron (11-4 overall, 6-1 league) had been unbeaten in the league, and the loss knocked the Vikings into a first-place tie with Atholton (14-1, 6-1), whose only loss was to Oakland Mills.
"To control our destiny we knew we had to win this game," Benden said. "I just tried to stay between Jestes and the ball or get in his face, and we knocked down our free throws at the end."
Benden made four of four and Atholton nine of 12 free throws in the fourth quarter, when Mount Hebron's rally was snuffed out by a strong Atholton defense that created 28 turnovers.
The Vikings, who rallied to beat Wilde Lake after trailing by 18 points, and who rallied to beat Oakland Mills after trailing by nine in the fourth quarter, started to make a fourth-period move against Atholton.
The Raiders led 45-33 early in the fourth quarter.
Mount Hebron's Patrick Ngongba (14 points) lit a spark with a monster dunk. Then Kevin Tonkins' driving three-point play cut the lead to 45-38.
"We fouled [Ngongba] a lot because we didn't want him getting dunks that could send the crowd wild," said Nat Watkins, who RTC was guarding the honorable-mention All-American. "I fronted him and [Varian] Harvey and [D.J.] Chiles did a great job on the backside. It rattled him and got him frustrated at times."
Atholton got into foul trouble when Watkins picked up his fourth with 6:24 left, and Chiles drew his fourth at 5:24.
Just as the momentum started to shift to Mount Hebron, however, Jestes missed a three-point attempt and Tonkins committed his third foul with 4:59 left and the score still 45-38.
That's when a defensive breakdown by Mount Hebron cost the Vikings. They left Benden wide open and he buried a three-point shot that put the Raiders ahead 48-38 and stole the heart from the Vikings.
Tonkins, who had 12 points, six rebounds, six steals and four blocked shots in one of his best efforts of the season, fouled out with 2:15 to play. That sealed the victory for Atholton.
"We've been putting four or five guys in double figures every game, playing unselfish ball and we are enjoying playing defense," Atholton coach Jim Albert said. "A coach can't ask for much more."
In addition to Benden's 14 points, Atholton got 16 from point guard Tyrone Allmond and 11 apiece from Watkins and Chiles.
Atholton dominated rebounding through the first three quarters and out-shot Mount Hebron 47-25. The Raiders ended up sinking 31 of 57 shots, and Mount Hebron made 17 of 39.