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When Archbishop Spalding coach Nick Jones went to Derrick Hinton before Friday night's game at Severn and asked him if he or returning teammate Rene Alphonso should start against the Admirals, Hinton didn't hesitate.
"Put him in and let him get going," Hinton said.
Alphonso, coming back from a dislocated shoulder, did get going early and finished with a team-high 15 points, while Hinton caught fire late, making two 3-pointers early in the fourth quarter as the Cavaliers hung on for a 46-41 victory in boys basketball.
Alphonso added seven rebounds while Barry McCormick chipped in with nine points for Archbishop Spalding (7-7), which overcame a six-point first quarter where nothing would fall.
"Good lord, all of those shots came back out, to be honest with you," Jones said. "Everything was in and out. We were getting good looks, and I was happy with the shots we were taking, but this was the second straight game where we had six or less points in the first quarter. We need to get that touch back to start games off."
Matters were worsened when leading scorer Buzz Anthony, who achieved 1,000 career points in a loss to McDonogh Thursday night, picked up his second foul, both on charges, just three minutes into the game. He had to sit for the rest of the quarter and the Admirals (4-6) led after one, 12-6.
"It was hard for me on the bench, but I trusted my teammates and we did not panic," Anthony said.
Jones protected Anthony from getting another foul by moving to a zone defense and Severn struggled offensively in the second, scoring just four points.
"I am not sure what happened. It is like we forgot how to play against a zone," Severn coach V.J. Keith said. "We are a little hesitant right now, a little passive. We are not attacking offensively and we are not getting the ball inside or getting to the foul line."
Alphonso, who was consistent all game, made a runner three seconds before the buzzer to give Spalding a 21-16 lead at halftime.
"We knew we had a tough match-up coming in and we just stayed composed throughout," Alphonso said.
The Cavaliers, on a 3-pointer by McCormick and another basket by Alphonso, extended the lead to 10 early in the third, but LJ Owens got going for the Admirals. Held to six points in the first half, Owens, who scored his 1,000th career point last week and was honored before the game, made a 3-pointer to get Severn's own run going. Mo Terry made a 3-pointer off a feed from Owens to even the game at 26 going into the fourth. Owens finished with a game-high 19 points and added seven rebounds.
"We wanted to limit him at the beginning, and we did, but he is good enough where, when you have a hand in his face all game, he is still going to get them in," Jones said. "We just had to weather his run."
AJ Burch hit a trey to start the fourth and give Severn the lead. Alphonso made two quick baskets to put the Cavaliers back in front, and then Owens made a jumper to give the Admirals a 31-30 lead. The game felt like it would go back-and-forth until the end, but Hinton decided against that. His first 3-pointer of the quarter, with 5:04 to play, gave the Cavaliers a 33-31 lead. His second, a minute later, extended the advantage out to five and provided some breathing room.
"We went to a small lineup and it opened me up, because they were so focused on Buzz and Rene," Hinton said. "All I needed to do was knock it down."
Anthony, Alphonso and Hinton combined to score all 20 of the Cavaliers' fourth quarter points. Hinton led the way with eight, while Alphonso and Anthony had six apiece. Anthony finished the game with 10 points, seven rebounds and three assists.
Varsity Highlights
"We got up by 10 and probably should have done a better job holding them off, but we stayed calm, took a timeout and Derrick made those shots to get us going," Anthony said. "It wasn't pretty, but we got together as a team and got it done."
Spalding heads to Orlando next week, while the Admirals head to Huntingtown. Jermaine Hall added six points and six rebounds for Severn, while Mo Terry had seven assists and was strong defensively. Keith scheduled five MIAA A Conference teams and a tough Washington Catholic Athletic Conference squad in St. Mary's Ryken to get his team prepared for the underrated grind that is the MIAA B Conference schedule.
"It is a process, and hopefully the confidence will build with these younger guys," Keith said. "We are working and it will get better. We just gotta keep working."
| Spalding (7-7) | 6 | 15 | 5 | 20 | - | 46 |
| Severn (4-6) | 12 | 4 | 10 | 15 | - | 41 |
Spalding (46)
Anthony 2 6-6 10; Alphonso 7 1-1 15; McAdams 0 0-0 0; Schemmel 0 0-0 0; Hinton 3(3) 2-2 11; McCormick 3(2) 1-2 9; Bozeman 0 1-4 1. TOTALS: 15(5) 11-15 46.
Severn (41)
Owens 7(2) 3-5 19; Burch 2(1) 0-0 5; Hall 3 0-0 6; Terry 1(1) 2-2 5; Berko 0 0-1 0; Van Kirk 2 0-0 4; Lilly 1 0-4 2. TOTALS: 16(4) 5-12 41.