With a patented third-quarter run finally providing some separation from the competition, it appeared Tuesday that the defending Class 1A state champion Digital Harbor boys basketball team had finally solved a pesky Patterson team.
It was the visiting Clippers, however, who showed the poise of a champion when it was needed the most.
After closing the third quarter on a 10-2 run, Patterson had the fourth quarter answers in impressive fashion.
Behind a 20-point, 10-assist performance from freshman point guard Aquille Carr, the Clippers walked off the No. 5 Rams' court with a stunning 76-62 win in Baltimore City play.
In addition to the impressive numbers, Carr controlled play in the pivotal moments as the Clippers scored the first 10 points of the fourth quarter before putting an exclamation point on the win with the game's last 10 points.
Donte Williams added 13 points, Tyrell Addison had 12, and Brian Lewis added 10 as Patterson improved to 3-2 this season while handing the Rams (4-1) their first loss.
"You've got to give a lot of credit to Aquille and the poise he showed as a freshman out there. Tonight against a state championship team, he controlled the tempo in the second half," Patterson coach Harry Martin said.
The Rams got senior guard Justin Jackson (21 points) back from injury, and he appeared to be prepared to take over the game with nine third-quarter points that helped give the home team its biggest lead at 51-44 with 2:28 left in the period.
But the Clippers stayed aggressive and made smarter decisions with the ball the rest of the way to pull away. They ended the third quarter on a 10-2 run - with Thomas Fisher hitting the last two baskets - and then scored 10 straight to start the fourth with hassling defense leading to easy transition baskets.
"We just lost the momentum, and it looked like some of our younger players just weren't used to this type of atmosphere," Digital Harbor coach Johnnie Grimes said. "But we'll get it back together, and we'll get back to the drawing board and be fine."
The Rams got 15 points from Davon Usher, with Malcolm Brown adding 11.
No. 2 St. Frances 53, Loyola 27: : Dante Holmes scored 14 points and Greg Lewis had 13, as the host Panthers (4-1) beat the Dons (3-4). Matt Mathias had 12 points for Loyola.
No. 6 City 58, Mervo 45: : Jordan Latham led all scorers with 19 points as the visiting Knights (5-0) beat the Mustangs.
Girls
No. 3 Western 51, Lake Clifton 3: : Brielle Ward had a game-high 12 points to lead the Doves (3-2) past the host Lakers.
No. 4 Digital Harbor 45, Patterson 13: : Asia Logan scored 12 points, and Janay Brinkley added 11 to power the visiting Lady Rams (3-1) past the Clippers.
Baltimore Sun reporters contributed to this article.