It had to sweat it out a little more than originally anticipated, but Centennial held on down the stretch Tuesday for an 80-70 victory over visiting Atholton.
The Eagles, which were led by Keonte Potts' 29-point night, were ahead by as many as 28 points late in the third quarter. But Atholton got itself back in the game thanks to a 26-6 run sparked by Gavin Stephenson (24 points) and Darren Fitzpatrick (18).
The original hole, however, proved to be just a little too large for Atholton to dig itself all the way out of.
"Those Atholton kids are fighters and they're always going to fight you until the very end, just like you saw tonight," Hollwedel said. "For us to be able to come out of here with a win, regardless of what the lead was or some of the mistakes we may have made at the end, I will take it.
"This is always a big game."
After falling behind 4-3 in the opening moments, Centennial's defense began taking over. Steals led to fast break lay-ups and open jump shots in unsettled situations.
Eight straight points by the Eagles made it 11-4 at the 4:30 mark of the opening quarter. By the first minute of the second quarter it was 23-13 and by halftime, Centennial was ahead 40-25.
Atholton committed 13 turnovers in the opening 16 minutes.
"Getting out and being able to run was definitely the difference … we were able to get baskets in the paint and in transition, while keeping them from being able to do the same thing on their end," Hollwedel said.
Centennial kept extending its cushion in the third, with Omari Ringgold (23 points) doing a lot of the damage. Following a lay-up in transition by Pat DeVries with 38 seconds left in the third quarter, the Eagles had their largest lead of 28 points, 62-34.
But just as it seemed the game was over, Atholton found life.
Fitzpatrick hit back-to-back threes to get things going and then Stephenson established himself. The senior, who was held to nine points in the first three quarters, exploded for 15 in the final eight minutes.
Following his lay-up with 2:51 remaining, the Raiders were all the way back within eight, 68-60.
"We finally figured it out," Atholton coach Jim Albert said. "We started playing with some heart, desire and effort and that's what we were missing."
But that was as close as Atholton got. Ringgold quickly answered with a three-point play and the Centennial lead never was less than nine the rest of the way.
Despite the loss, though, Albert says it was an important learning experience.
"You can see there's still an awful lot of work to be done, but we have some kids that are willing to work," he said. "They're great kids and, it may take a little while, but we're going to be all right."
Centennial 80, Atholton 70
C (1-0, 1-0): Potts 29, Ringgold 23, Tinuoye 9, Benson 8, DeVries 5, Goldsmith 4, Klima 2.
A (0-1, 1-1): Stephenson 24, Fitzpatrick 18, Acker 6, Bernetti 5, Martin 5, McMahon 4, Courtney 2, Bezold 2, Shapiro 2, Haas 2.
Half: 40-25
Other games:
Wilde Lake 69, River Hill 44
In the season opener for both teams, the Wildecats used a great all-around effort to cruise to a 25-point victory. Ten different players scored at least two points and Wilde Lake's lead was as many as 30 points in the second half.
Dante Garner (14 points) and Devaughn Garner (12) led the way for Wilde Lake, while Eric Qui (10 points) led the Hawks.
After a little bit of a slow start, Wilde Lake got a pair of threes from Antoine Barnes and a steal and lay-up by Eric Handy to stake itself to the lead. Then everyone started getting into the act for the Wildecats, increasing the lead to 37-14 at the half.
"We played great defense tonight … really communicating well and then getting out and running," Wilde Lake coach Deon Wingfield said. "Being the first game, not really knowing what to expect, I was very pleased with how they came out."
RH (0-1, 0-1): Ruben 4, Sandler 5, Thomas 7, Richardson 8, Qui 10, Moody 7, Check 3.
WL (1-0, 1-0): Williams 5, McNeel 4, Barnes 8, Burgess 6, Mynatt 5, Miller 6, Handy 7, Devaughn Garner 12, Matthews 2, Dante Garner 14.
Half: 37-14.
Marriotts Ridge 69, Long Reach 54
Arjun Patel scored a career-high 36 points to lead the Mustangs to a big win in the team's season opener. Long Reach, which was coming off a win over High Point on Monday, was led by DeVaughn Nowlin's 19 points in the loss.
MR (1-0, 1-0): Patel 36, Tucker 9, Davis 8, Harrison 8, Kratochwill 3, Willsey 2, Delaney 2, Durham 1.
LR (0-1, 1-1): Nowlin 19, Hargrove 11, Leconte 5, Brown 5, Taylor 4, Stewart 3, Nwankwo 3, Ross 2, Allmond 2.
Half: 35-33 MR.
Reservoir 58, Glenelg 54
The Gators used a 21-point fourth quarter to earn a come-from-behind victory. Reservoir's 2-2-1 full court press was particularly instrumental in helping erase a deficit that was as many as eight points early in the second half.
Re (1-0, 1-0): Williams 12, Toler 9, Christian 8, Jackson 7, Usher 7, Armstrong 5, Booth 4, Kevan 3, Sponsky 2, Epps 1.
G (0-1, 0-2): Spurrier 13, Randle 10, Tolbert 9, Chahine 8, Oates 7, Hammert 5, Mirano 2.
Mt. Hebron 59, Howard 58 OT
Junior Malik Gilmore's three-point play with 1.8 seconds left in overtime ended up being the difference in the Vikings' county-opening victory. Jeff Mohilchock led Mt. Hebron with 14 points, while James Bartnik and Colin Dyer were Howard's leaders with 16 points apiece in the loss.
MH (1-0, 2-0): Mohilchock 14, Moses 13, Shade 12, Jenkins 10, Gilmore 8, Woodard 2.
Ho (0-1, 0-1): Bartnik 16, Dyer 16, K. Hawkins 9, Alexander 8, Wendt 7, Crisco 2.
Half: 27-20 MH.
Hammond 70, Oakland Mills 63
Ha (1-0, 1-1): Turner 26, Green 15, Echols 12, Lashley 11, Hendrick 3, Whitlock 3.
OM (0-1, 0-2): Manns 34, Tapsscott 15, N. Zayatz 5, Dent 4, Bradley 2, Lee 1.
Half: 38-29 Ha.