Keonte Potts poured in 23 points, Omari Ringgold added 19 and Centennial held off a furious fourth-quarter rally by Marriotts Ridge Wednesday for a 61-57 victory that now has the Eagles perched atop the standings as the county's last unbeaten team.
After watching its eight-point lead with four minutes left get cut down to just one, Centennial responded with five of the game's final seven points to hold on. Potts accounted for four of the five points in the final minute.
"I kept thinking we had to find a way to pull this out and I was going to do whatever I had to do to help us win," Potts said. "It's only one game, but it's an important one for us to keep going toward that championship."
Centennial (3-0, 3-0) and Marriotts Ridge (2-1, 2-1) entered the night as the county's last two unbeaten teams and found themselves in a battle from the very beginning.
Marriotts Ridge had the better of the opening eight minutes, finishing the quarter with seven straight points to go ahead 15-11. Forward D.J. Tucker (18 points, 11 rebounds) was huge in establishing the Mustang lead, scoring seven of the team's first eight points.
"We've been talking with him that we need him to post and we need that effort … like you saw tonight, it adds something completely different for us," Marriotts Ridge coach Mike Coughlan said.
On the back of Potts and Ringgold, though, Centennial fought back in front. The duo combined for 26 points in the first half to help the Eagles to a 31-30 lead at intermission.
"Keonte and Omari have different games, which is kind of nice, because they compliment each other and can score in a number of different ways," Centennial coach Chad Hollwedel said.
Neither team managed to pull ahead by more than five points in the third.
In the fourth quarter, though, Centennial started extending things out, taking its largest lead, 52-43, on a lay-up by Timi Tinuoye with 5:17 left.
But Arjun Patel (21 points), who had been held to seven points in the first half, wasn't about to let Marriotts Ridge fade away. The senior converted a three-point play after Tinuoye's bucket and then, following a couple traded baskets that left the score 56-48 with 3:54 remaining, he hit a three and a contested lay-up.
"We were trying to make Arjun's life difficult there in the first half and D.J. was killing us, then we switched things up a little and Arjun hit some huge shots," Hollwedel said. "I was very impressed with their offensive execution."
Following a lay-up by Robert Davis with 1:24 left, Marriotts Ridge had pulled back within one at 56-55.
That's when Potts calmly came down and hit a pull-up jumper to go ahead by three. A lay-up by Marriotts Ridge's Tucker made it 58-57 and then Centennial's Ben Goldsmith (6 points) hit one of two foul shots to push the lead to two with 13 seconds remaining.
Marriotts Ridge advanced the ball and got two good looks at the basket, but both shots from the right side came up short and Potts got the rebound and was fouled. He went to the other end and hit both foul shots to seal the game.
"We knew they weren't going to go away, but it's a credit to our kids that we never relinquished that lead," Hollwedel said. "We made some mistakes, but did the things we needed to in order to maintain (the lead) and pull it out."
For Marriotts Ridge, Coughlan said he was pleased with the effort but hopes the loss makes his team even hungrier.
"Winning is a habit and losing is a habit, so we told the kids 'don't accept this loss,' " Coughlan said. "We've got to learn from it, build from it and come out Friday and take it out on Atholton. That's what winning teams do."
Centennial 61, Marriotts Ridge 57
C (3-0, 3-0): Potts 23, Ringgold 19, Goldsmith 6, Klima 5, Tinuoye 4, Eads 2, Adams 2.
MR (2-1. 2-1): Patel 21, Tucker 18, Davis 8, Delaney 4, Durham 4, Brown 2.
Half: 31-30 C.
Other scores:
Reservoir 52, Hammond 46
Trailing by double digits entering the fourth quarter, Reservoir picked up its defense and held the Golden Bears to just three points in the final eight minutes to pick up the come-from-behind victory. Joey Usher led the way in the win with 19 points for the Gators, while James Turner led Hammond with 21.
Re (2-1, 2-1): Armstrong 2, Toler 8, Booth 11, Usher 19, Epps 8, Williams 2, Jackson 2.
Ha (1-2, 1-3): Turner 21, Blackwell 2, Hendrick 1, Lashley 6, Echols 2, Green 14.
Half: 28-23 Ha.
Oakland Mills 61, Glenelg 59
OM (1-2, 1-3): Manns 23, Bradley 11, Tapscott 8, Zayatz 7, Madden-Stricker 6, Russell 6.
G (1-2, 1-3): Spurrier 23, Tolbert 15, Grimes 6, Hammert 6, Randle 5, Chahine 3, Dubbe 1.
Half: 26-24 OM.
Atholton 72, Howard 44
A (2-1, 3-1): Fitzpatrick 17, Stephenson 13, Bernetti 9, Courtney 6, Martin 6, Acker 6, Kosoff 5, Haas 4, Akeyerko 4, Burmester 2.
Ho (1-2, 1-2): Bartnik 21, Alexander 5, Marsh 5, Dyer 4, Wendt 2, Wood 2, Spalding 2, Binkley 2.
Half: 40-21 A.
Long Reach 52, River Hill 38
LR (2-1, 3-1): Nowlin 16, Leconte 10, Taylor 7, Betters 6, Allmond 5, Hargrove 4, Ross 2, Stewart 2.
RH (0-3, 0-3): Thomas 13, Richardson 11, Moody 9, Qiu 3, Check 2.
Half: 28-16 LR.
Mt. Hebron 65, Wilde Lake 55
MH (2-1, 3-1): Gilmore 12, Mohilchock 14, Shade 2, Donner 2, Moses 19, Woodard 8, Jenkins 8.
WL (1-2, 1-2): Williams 3, McNeel 9, Barnes 12, Handy 4, Devaughn Garner 15, Dante Garner 12.
Half: 34-29 MH.
