Josh Vlna made only one field goal the entire game, but it turned out to be the game winner. His 3-pointer gave host Annapolis Area Christian School boys basketball a three-point lead and the Eagles held on to beat St. Vincent Pallotti, 73-72, in a Maryland Interscholastic Athletic Association B Conference semifinal Thursday.
The Eagles (17-7) led 70-63 late in the fourth quarter before the Panthers (22-8) tied the game at 70 with a minute to go. Vlna scored the go-ahead basket with 40 seconds left and Pallotti missed a 3-point attempt but got a put-back to cut the lead to 73-72. The Panthers would take two more shots in the closing 16 seconds and the last shot rimmed out.
AACS coach Doug Schedit said that Pallotti played with a lot of energy in the first half and noted that some of their fans arrived in a fan bus. The Panthers led 41-30 at the half, but a 28-11 run by the Eagles in the second half allowed the home team to wrest control of the game.
"It was a dogfight," Schneidt said. "But it all came down to effort."
No. 8 Oakland Mills 57, Marriotts Ridge 44: Mamadou Ndiaye scored a game-high 18 points to lead the Scorpions (16-3) past the host Mustangs (5-15).
Oakland Mills opened with an 18-4 run.
Girls
Garrison Forest 59, Catholic 29: Sam Fiedler scored 15 points to lead the host Grizzlies (19-1) past the Cubs (12-8) in an IAAM C Conference semifinal.
Garrison Forest faces Mount Carmel/Oldfields winner in Sunday's championship at 1 p.m. at Stevenson.
Annapolis Area Christian School 72, Severn 64: Taylor Murray scored 43 points and added nine rebounds, six steals and five assists to lead the Eagles over the Admirals in the Interscholastic Athletic Association of Maryland B Conference semifinal.
Jordyn Hursh added nine points and eight rebounds for AACS, which advanced to Sunday's conference championship game at Stevenson.
Maddie McDaniel had 18 points, 12 rebounds and three assists, Maya Harris had 18 points, Jorryn Avery had 11 and Rachel Crawford, playing in her final game for Severn, pitched in with 10 points.
—Ryan Morse, Baltimore Sun Media Group