Atholton coach Jim Albert will have to wait at least a few more days for win No. 400. Marriotts Ridge, which defeated the Raiders 69-66 Friday, is busy chasing its own milestone.
Robert Davis scored 11 of his team-high 19 points in the fourth quarter, helping keep the Mustangs tied for first place and in the running for the first county title in program history.
"We talked about how coach Albert was going for his 400th win and how, with where we are, we're going to get everyone's best shot," Marriotts Ridge coach Mike Coughlan said. "But if we want to be champions, we've got to be able to take everybody's best shot. We're going to have to earn this, no one's going to give it to us."
"That said, I can't say enough about these kids. They've stayed resilient through everything so far."
Albert, who is sitting on 399 career victories, has watched his Raiders (8-7, 11-7) drop back-to-back games now. But more than reaching any career benchmarks, his focus when Atholton returns to action on Tuesday against Oakland Mills will be on simply getting things back on track for this year's squad.
"We're doing some good things, but we're struggling with making easy shots … missed lay-ups and foul shots are killing us," Albert said. "Those are things we can control. Tonight alone we missed 14 free throws. If we can fix that, we'll be alright."
Friday's contest against the Mustangs (13-2, 16-2) was back-and-forth from the beginning. In the first quarter the lead changed hands seven times and neither team led by more than four points.
The second quarter was a different story, though, with Marriotts Ridge using an 11-2 spurt to build an 11-point cushion, 31-19, with 5:36 left before halftime.
But as quickly as the Raiders fell behind, they raced back into the thick of things. Punctuated by a jumper from Brian McMahon in the closing seconds of the first half, Atholton headed into the break on a 19-6 run to take a 38-37 lead.
"If anything changed, it was effort," Albert said. "We got good help coming off the bench and we fought our way back into it."
The momentum carried with Atholton over into the third quarter, as it quickly pushed the lead up to seven and then headed into the final eight minutes up 52-46.
But with the game on the line, Davis found another gear. The point guard started attacking the rim, converting a pair of lay-ups during a 7-0 stretch to start the fourth quarter that put Marriotts Ridge back in front.
"It wasn't really me setting my mind to be aggressive, it was more taking the opportunities I had and doing what we needed," Davis said. "I saw openings and I took them."
Davis ended up making three shots from the floor and was a perfect 5 of 5 from the foul line in the final 6 minutes, 37 seconds.
"I just pulled him aside and told him 'you saved, us tonight,' " Coughlan said. "We were going through a tough time and he stepped up and decided he wasn't going to let this team lose."
The lead would end up changing hands six more times down the stretch, with neither team leading by more than six points in the final quarter.
Atholton's Gavin Stephenson did his part with 12 of his game-high 23 points coming in the final five minutes. But ultimately it wasn't enough to knock off a Marriotts Ridge team that hit 13 of 15 from the foul line in the fourth quarter.
Davis, Arjun Patel (16 points) and B.J. Durham (12) all chipped in at the line to keep the Raiders at arms length. Stephenson had one last chance to tie at the buzzer, but his attempt glanced off the left side of the rim.
"You knew coming in it was going to be a battle and come down to the fourth quarter and maybe even the last possession," Albert said. "The disappointing thing is that the last quarter we were outscored 23-14."
Marriotts Ridge 69, Atholton 66
MR (13-2, 16-2): Davis 19, Patel 16, Durham 12, Tucker 8, Menker 5, Delaney 3, Kratochwill 3, Willsey 2, Miller 1.
A (8-7, 11-7): Stephenson 24, Fitzpatrick 9, McMahon 7, Haas 6, Martin 5, Courtney 4, Florenzo 3, Shapiro 3, Acker 2.
Half: 38-37.
Other scores:
Centennial 59, Long Reach 46
C (13-2, 14-4): Ringgold 16, Goldsmith 15, Tinuoye 12, Potts 11, Fletcher 3, Benson 2.
LR (8-7, 9-9): Nowlin 17, Hargrove 14, Allmond 10, Stewart 5
Half: 35-22 C.
Oakland Mills 62, Wilde Lake 54
OM (5-10, 7-11): Manns 32, Dent 8, Tapscott 7, Lee 5, N. Zayatz 5, Huewe 2, J. Zayatz 2, Madden-Stricker 1.
WL (11-4, 14-4): Dante Garner 26, Handy 10, Williams 8, Barnes 5, Devaughn Garner 2, Mynatt 2, Parris 1.
Half: 28-27 OM.
Hammond 62, Glenelg 49
Ha (6-9, 7-11): Turner 27, Green 14, Echols 7, Blackwell 6, Howard 4, Lashley 2, Rollin 2.
G (5-10, 5-13): Spurrier 16, Tolbert 9, Chahine 6, Mirano 6, Dubbe 4, Oates 3, Randle 3, Livak 2.
Half: 30-19 Ha.
Mt. Hebron 60, River Hill 57
MH (7-8, 8-8): Gilmore 26, Mohilchock 11, Moses 11, Woodard 6, Glaze 4, Shade 2.
RH (2-13, 2-16): Moody 23, Sandler 13, Thomas 10, Qiu 6, Richardson 3, Park 2.
Half: 22-22.
Reservoir 44, Howard 39
Re (7-8, 8-9): Booth 16, Usher 10, Reilly 7, Sponsky 4, Kevan 3, Jackson 2, Toler 2.
Ho (5-10, 5-13): Alexander 12, K. Hawkins 10, Marsh 5, Dyer 5, D. Bartnik 4, J. Bartnik 2, J. Hawkins 1.
Half: 21-18 Re.
Gilman 72, Chapelgate 58
G: Montgomery 4, Grace 17, Jones 16, Watson 8, Ripken 15, Matthai 2, McBride 1, Tilley 5, Koteen 3, Pogti 1.
Ch (5-10, 9-15): Frierson 10, Lawrence 4, Harris-Winn 18, Obi 10, Grandy 14, Amobi 2.
Half: 48-28 G.