Junior point guard Steven Cruz, the smallest player on the court at 5 feet 7, made the biggest play to give Howard a thrilling 55-53 home victory over Atholton in Howard County boys basketball last night.
The win by Howard (13-3) broke a three-way tie for first in the county, dropping Atholton (13-4) to second at 11-2, with both losses to the Lions. Howard and Marriotts Ridge are tied for first at 12-1 each.
Cruz ducked under and around a couple of Atholton big men and laid in the game-winning basket with 28 seconds left.
"He's our playmaker," first-year Lions coach Kevin McDuffie said. "He's not looking to score, but he is a scorer. It was his time to step up. I told him they were double-teaming on the big guys and you've got to take that shot. He came through."
Cruz, who had six points and six assists, was called for a reach-in foul with 54 seconds remaining, and the Raiders' Aziz Iscandari made the first of two free throws and tied the game at 53.
Atholton, which in December lost 66-64 to Howard, went down the other end after Cruz's shot and nearly lost the ball, only to see a jump ball go its way with seven seconds remaining.
However, the Raiders could not get off a shot because they couldn't get the ball past and over 6-6 junior center MacGyver Biniak and power forward Jonathan Moore.
"We had to play tight and make sure they didn't shoot any threes to win the game," said Biniak, who had 11 points and a game-high 14 rebounds.
Trailing 29-23 at the half, Atholton outscored Howard 17-7 in the third quarter to take a 40-36 lead. Iscandari scored five of his game-high 16 points in that period.
Sophomore Matt Robinson was the only other Raider in double figures with 11 points, and he grabbed six rebounds. A.J. Jones chipped in with seven points and 11 rebounds despite foul trouble.
The Lions got 11 points from Quinton Lopez and 10 from Moore.
"A win by 30 or a win by two is a win, and sometimes you have nights like that, " Atholton coach Jim Albert said. "Whether they have our number or not, I think it comes down to taking care of the ball."
pat.omalley@baltsun.com
No. 5 St. Frances 80, Calvert Hall 62 -- Sean Mosley led five Panthers in double figures as they defeated the visiting Cardinals. Mosley came out strong, scoring 17 of his 25 points in the first half as St. Frances (20-8) built a 22-point lead. He also led the team with 11 rebounds. Anthony Oquendo also posted a double double with 12 points and 10 rebounds. John Graham led Calvert Hall with 23 points.
Woodlawn 42, Franklin 40 -- Fueled by Darius Nesmith, the host Warriors scored 19 fourth-quarter points to defeat the Indians. Nesmith scored nine of his 15 points in the final quarter for Woodlawn (12-3), which took its first lead late in the fourth quarter.
Pikesville 54, Eastern Tech 51 -- The host Panthers held off several comeback attempts by the Mavericks for the victory. Freddie Sellers paced Pikesville (12-4) with a game-high 21 points.
Girls
No. 5 Mount Hebron 58, Hammond 26 -- Deanna Dydynski scored 14 points to power the visiting Vikings (17-0) past the Bears. Mount Hebron went on a 15-0 run to start the game and never trailed.
No. 15 Towson Catholic 43, No. 7 Mercy 39 -- Tyler Hale scored a game-high 22 points to lead the visiting Owls (12-4) past the Magic. Towson Catholic led 26-17 at the half.
No. 13 South River 73, No. 10 Southern 50 -- Jaclyn Nucci's layup as time expired gave the senior her 1,001th career point as the visiting Seahawks (11-4) rolled. Nucci, The Sun's Anne Arundel Player of the Year last season, finished with a game-high 24 points to go with nine rebounds.
Eastern Tech 50, Pikesville 45 -- The host Mavericks' Amanda Walters hit a three-pointer with 37 seconds remaining in regulation to force overtime. Eastern Tech outscored the Panthers 9-4 in the extra period to seal the win. Cassie Anderson paced the Mavericks with 13 points.
Sun reporters contributed to this article.