Edgewood High School continued its rampage through the Harford County League last night, but the victory did not come easily.
The Rams (12-8, 9-3) made it nine wins in their past 12 games, but had to go overtime to put down host Aberdeen, 64-60. It was the fourth loss in the past five games for the Eagles (12-8, 8-5).
Edgewood senior Mike Baldwin tied the game at 60 with two free throws off a one-and-one situation with 1:32 left in overtime, and Clayton Harrington, another senior, followed with two more 12 seconds later. Free throws by Baldwin and Thedrick Tapp closed it out in the last 30 seconds.
Aberdeen, which had come back from a 41-29 deficit with 3:36 left in the third quarter, could not get a shot to fall in the last two minutes of overtime.
The home team could not get the clutch rebound and committed turnovers in two pressure situations. Then 5-foot-11 Jimmy Greene, a 14-point scorer on the season, got caught underneath with the ball and taller people around him. In the last 40 seconds he drove inside twice, but the shots didn't fall.
From that 41-29 third-quarter advantage, Edgewood got only one basket in the closing 3:36, and Aberdeen got six points from 6-6 Gabriel Neal and three from Greene to get within 43-38 going to the last quarter.
Two minutes into the fourth quarter, a three-point play by Martel, his only points, got the Eagles their first lead, 45-44, since midway through the first quarter.
Two free throws by Charlie Burkhardt with 1:29 left in regulation tied it at 53, and Thedrick Tapp and Tommy Mimms matched baskets before the teams went scoreless for the last 40 seconds.
"High school players have a tendency when they get up like that [41-29] to try to do too many things too quickly. That, and I thought Aberdeen turned it up a notch, too," Edgewood coach Bob Slagle said.
"It's the character of this group -- they do some things that aren't very smart, but they seem to get it done when they have to."
The Rams put four scorers in double figures, topped by Baldwin and guard Chris Finlay, perhaps the most steady of this senior-dominated squad, each with 15. Charlie Burkhardt had 11, and Tapp 10.
For Aberdeen, Tommy Mimms, who with James Smith was moved up from JV last month, had 18, and Neal 17, including 5-for-7 from the line.