North Point High School senior Satchel Ball keeps a close eye on Broadneck’s Nicholas Gatton during Wednesday night’s Class 4A East Region Section II final at Broadneck. Ball scored 15 points for the Eagles in a losing cause, 66-61.
North Point junior guard Jayvin Brown looks to drive to the basket in Wednesday night’s Class 4A East Region Section II final at Broadneck. Brown and the Eagles fell behind by 12 points in the first quarter and never led while suffering a 66-61 setback to the Bruins.
Starters on the North Point High School boys basketball team head to center court for the outset of Wednesday night's Class 4A East Region Section II final at Broadneck High School in Annapolis. North Point trailed by as many as 12 points in the first quarter and never led en route to suffering a 66-61 setback to the Bruins.
North Point High School head boys basketball coach Jimmy Ball watches his players prepare for the tip-off of Wednesday night's Class 4A East Region Section II final at Broadneck High School. The Eagles fell behind early and never led while suffering a 66-61 setback to the Bruins.
North Point High School senior Satchel Ball keeps a close eye on Broadneck’s Nicholas Gatton during Wednesday night’s Class 4A East Region Section II final at Broadneck. Ball scored 15 points for the Eagles in a losing cause, 66-61.
Staff photos by Ted Black
North Point junior guard Jayvin Brown looks to drive to the basket in Wednesday night’s Class 4A East Region Section II final at Broadneck. Brown and the Eagles fell behind by 12 points in the first quarter and never led while suffering a 66-61 setback to the Bruins.
Staff photo by Ted Black
Starters on the North Point High School boys basketball team head to center court for the outset of Wednesday night's Class 4A East Region Section II final at Broadneck High School in Annapolis. North Point trailed by as many as 12 points in the first quarter and never led en route to suffering a 66-61 setback to the Bruins.
Staff photo by Ted Black
North Point High School head boys basketball coach Jimmy Ball watches his players prepare for the tip-off of Wednesday night's Class 4A East Region Section II final at Broadneck High School. The Eagles fell behind early and never led while suffering a 66-61 setback to the Bruins.
ANNAPOLIS — Throughout the course of the season, North Point High School head boys basketball coach Jimmy Ball has lamented his team’s pattern of starting games slowly and then seeking to gather some momentum after spotting its opponents an early advantage.
Wednesday night at Broadneck High School in the Class 4A East Region Section II final, North Point watched the top-seeded and host Bruins go on a 12-0 run in the first quarter and trailed 19-8 at the end of the opening frame. On several occasions in the second half, the Eagles trimmed the deficit to a single point but they never led and eventually suffered a 66-61 setback.
“We fell behind early the other night against Annapolis, but we were able to overcome that and come away with a win,” said Ball, whose third-seeded Eagles emerged with a 71-68 victory on Monday in the section semifinals. “Tonight, we played hard and I could not be any prouder of these guys. We just could never play with the lead and we did not have an answer for [Logan Vican]. He just killed us inside.”
Broadneck head coach John Williams had watched his team suffer from a similar drought in the opening stages of the Anne Arundel County championship game against Old Mill and the Bruins eventually lost that contest. Broadneck, however, will not have to face Old Mill in the 4A East Region final this evening since Meade won the Section I final over Old Mill on Wednesday.
“After we lost to Old Mill in the county championship game, our focus coming in here was playing with high intensity early and not falling behind,” Williams said. “We came out with a lot of energy and that first quarter was important. Down the stretch we rebounded well and played good defense, but we did not do a good job on free throws.”
North Point (17-7 overall) and Broadneck (20-5) were tied on three occasions before the Bruins embarked on the 12-0 run for an 18-6 lead in the first quarter, one that ended with the hosts up, 19-8. The Eagles got to within three points twice in the second quarter before the Bruins opened a 30-20 advantage, countered by a 6-0 run from the visitors to end the half.
North Point and Broadneck virtually traded buckets throughout the third quarter until the Eagles’ Xavier Grant made a layup to trim the Bruins’ lead to 40-39 with 95 seconds left in the frame. But North Point could never get the lead and Broadneck closed out the third quarter on a 5-0 run and started the fourth with another bucket to go up 47-39.
North Point got to within four early in the final frame on a layup by senior Satchel Ball (15 points) and another bucket inside from fellow senior Grant (10 points), but Broadneck’s Che Colbert countered with a three-point field goal and Vican added a short jumper on the Bruins’ next possession for a 54-45 lead.
North Point again refused to go away quietly and it responded with a layup, two free throws and a three-pointer from Jordan McKenzie to bring the Eagles within four again at 58-54 with 3:30 remaining. McKenzie led the visitors with 18 points.
But the visitors’ momentum was once again rebuffed by Vican, who had a layup on the Bruins’ next possession and Colbert followed with a pivotal steal and layup for a 62-54 advantage with just over two minutes left.
North Point trimmed the gap again when Andre Brantley hit a three-pointer, Brown added a layup and McKenzie had a short jumper, but Broadneck maintained a comfortable lead over the last 40 seconds despite making only one of four free throws. The Eagles turned the ball over twice in the last minute of play, hampering their chances for an improbable rally.
“We only lose four seniors and it’s going to be tough not seeing Satchel out there,” Ball said of his son. “He’s probably been hanging around everyone involved with the program since he was 4 years old. Tonight was his last game for me and now he’ll play four years at Gannon (Pa.). Xavier really played well tonight. They all gave me everything they had tonight.”
