Entering the fourth quarter against St. Frances last night, Towson Catholic's road to the Maryland Interscholastic Athletic Association A Conference boys basketball final was filled with obstacles.
For one, the Owls were facing the same Panthers team that had beaten them twice in the regular season. They were also down by nine points after having trailed the entire game, and the Panthers' Sean Mosley had just come off a quarter in which he had scored 10 points.
But Towson Catholic isn't the defending A Conference champion for nothing.
A game-tying three-point shot at the end of regulation coupled with big-time performances from the Owls' seniors led to a 78-74 overtime victory in a conference semifinal at Towson University.
"Everybody wasn't believing in us after we lost Donte [Greene] and Malcolm [Delaney]," forward Brandon Greene said of losing the star players to graduation. "We looked at it like it was a disrespect to us and a slap in the face."
The Owls were down 50-41 going into the fourth quarter and still down by eight midway through the period when Owls guard Larry Bastfield took over.
The senior had a 10-point surge, including a drive to the lane, where he was fouled and made the free throw, and a three-pointer from the top to pull the Owls within three points.
No. 8 Towson Catholic (20-11) was down 66-63 with 6.5 seconds left when Devin Spencer inbounded to Greene, who went right back to Spencer, who hit a three from the left wing to tie the game.
"We work on that play over and over again," coach Josh Pratt said. "It really comes down to your intensity and your heart, and our guys didn't let up."
Greene took over in the overtime. He scored Towson Catholic's first five points in the extra period, off a post-up basket and three straight foul shots.
With 36 seconds left, he spun in the paint and scored to give the Owls a 75-70 lead that they wouldn't relinquish.
Bastfield had 25 points, and Greene finished with 24 points and 10 rebounds. Mosley led No. 4 St. Frances (24-9) with 23 points and 13 rebounds. He had 17 points in the second half but none in overtime.
"We've been preaching all year to play your best basketball in February," Pratt said. "I'm very proud of my seniors, and they responded to everything we do."
Towson Catholic will play the winner of Mount St. Joseph-John Carroll. The game, which was supposed to be played last night, was postponed because of inclement weather and will be played at 5:30 p.m. today at Archbishop Spalding.
stefen.lovelace@baltsun.com