Oakland Mills junior guard Irving Conwell did not want a late, momentary mental lapse on offense to cost his 15th-ranked Scorpions a win over host Howard.
After crossing half-court with 1:30 left to play, the Scorpions' leading scorer (23 points) was double-teamed and stripped of the basketball by Howard forward Corey Curtis, who raced to the hoop for a layup that knotted the score at 52 and sent the Lions fans into hysteria.
"At that one point my head was not into it. I didn't want to be blamed for losing this game," Conwell said.
With a shot at redemption, Conwell succeeded. His driving layup with 36 seconds left put Oakland Mills ahead 54-52, and the Scorpions guard sealed the 58-55 victory with four straight free throws.
Oakland Mills (19-3, 12-2) also received 19 points from senior Mike Hill, while Curtis led Howard with 18 points, 10 in the fourth quarter.
Unfortunately for Oakland Mills, hopes for a share of the county title with Atholton were --ed as word spread that the 11th-ranked Raiders (21-1, 13-1) had defeated No. 19 Mount Hebron, 72-65, to clinch the county title and leave the Scorpions in second place
"We just needed this win to go into the playoffs with momentum, but it would have been nice for the school to have had a share of the title," Conwell said.
For the second time in three days, Howard (9-12, 6-8) made a strong second-half comeback -- outscoring Oakland Mills, 40-27 -- only to fall short. Tuesday against Atholton, Howard trailed by 19 going into the fourth and closed to within 92-90 before losing, 94-90.
fTC Howard, despite geting a strong inside effort from senior center Sekou Hayes (12 points, nine rebounds), missed the front end of two one-and-one opportunities against Oakland Mills, the first for the lead and the second to tie.
"That might have been my fault," Howard coach Kevin Broadus said. "I might have left a few kids in the game too long and they were tired at the end."
Broadus said the Lions lack the consistency to contend for a county title.
"If we could play a whole game like we did against Wilde Lake, where we played a great half and a good half, we might be right there," Broadus said.
Conwell praised Howard.
"Guys like Corey, DaLawn Parrish and Larry Long are great athletes who step up down the stretch and don't tire out," Conwell said.
Howard scrapped its way back into the game after a disastrous first quarter in which the Lions made no field goals and fell behind 14-2. The Lions trailed at halftime, 31-15.