Glenelg coach Jansen McMillan isn't traditionally one for moral victories.
Although Tuesday, following his team's 61-53 loss to Edmondson at Forest Park High School, the Gladiators' coach was all smiles.
After quickly falling 16 points behind the Red Storm, which came into the game ranked 10th in the area by the Baltimore Sun, Glenelg had battled all the way back to within one point early in the fourth quarter.
Ultimately the comeback fell short, with Edmondson making a couple late lay-ups and its final six foul shots, but McMillan had seen everything he could have hoped for from his young group in their season opener.
"Being down 13-0 like we were and coming back like that shows a lot," McMillan said. "Behind the leadership of Joe (Tolbert) and Troy (Spurrier), mixed in with our freshmen, we fought and maintained our mental toughness.
"We lost, but we can take a lot of positives out of here."
Spurrier led the way in the loss with 17 points and six rebounds, followed by 10 points from freshman Matt Hammert and 8 from freshman Nick Oates. Alexis Chahine chipped in with four points, nine rebounds and six blocks.
Edmondson's scoring was balanced, with Isaiah Tripp (12 points), Darius Walker (11) and Rishard Lane (10) all reaching double figures.
It was all Edmondson in the early going, with the Red Storm scoring the game's first 13 points and going ahead by as many as 16, 20-4, in the first seven minutes. All five Edmondson starters scored a basket during that early stretch.
"Second-chance points killed us early," McMillan said. "We were touching the ball, but we weren't getting the ball. It's tough, because we were getting them to take the shots we wanted, but just not closing out the possession."
Glenelg, however, did slowly begin chipping away at the deficit. A 7-0 spurt at the end of the first half, punctuated by a Tolbert (6 points) lay-up, made it 33-26 at intermission.
By the end of the third quarter, the Gladiators had gotten back to within four, 46-42. And then, following a 3-pointer from Oates 61 seconds into the final period, Glenelg was back within one, 48-47.
Just when it seemed the Gladiators were ready to get over the hump, though, Edmondson answered with six straight points over the next three minutes. That spurt, combined with a 6-6 effort from the foul line over the final 37 seconds, kept the Red Storm ahead by at least four points the rest of the way.
Edmondson improved to 2-0 with the win, while Glenelg dropped to 0-1. The Gladiators will return to action on Wednesday in their county opener against Reservoir.
Edmondson 61, Glenelg 53
E (2-0): Tripp 12, Walker 11, Lane 10, Hubbard 9, McCalin 6, Dowery 7, Johnson 3, Everett 3.
G (0-1): Spurrier 17, Hammert 10, Oates 8, Tolbert 6, Dubbe 5, Chahine 4, Randle 2, Mirano 1.
Half: 33-26 E.
Other scores:
Chapelgate 51, Severn 44
Ch (2-1, 5-3): Frierson 15, Bryant 17, Harris-Winn 5, Obi 8, Grandy 6.
S: Smith 10, Siegrist 8, Crabtree 9, Collier 3, Ryan 8, Munroe 3, Wood 3.
Half: 26-16 Ch.
Spalding 65, Glenelg Country 57