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Sports

Boys' Basketball: At Last, Centennial Cuts Down The Nets, Heads to State Semifinals

The Centennial Eagles won 54-51 Friday night to earn the first regional title in school history.

There was just a little more than a minute left in the game when the Centennial Eagles made their stand.

A lead Centennial had held all game evaporated when Atholton connected on a field goal, tying the game at 51-51. But the Eagles listened to what their coach had been telling them all season – to stay calm and relaxed – and they did just that.

They got a turnover.

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They made their free throws.

They got a defensive stop.  

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And they didn’t let Atholton score again.

“It’s the biggest!” Centennial senior guard Aaron Adams said of the 54-51 victory.

A packed house was on hand to see Centennial take home its first-ever regional  title in boys' basketball. The gym was at its capacity set by the fire marshal – a number Athletic Director Jean Vanderpool put at 608 – and police were turning fans away at the door. One of the 608 inside was Howard County Executive Ken Ulman, a Centennial alum.

The Eagles seized on the energy flowing from their figurative sixth man, playing outstanding defense in the first quarter and holding Atholton to just nine points.

Down 18-9 after one, Atholton kept the game from getting away in the second quarter. They clawed back, and while Centennial was still in the lead at halftime, the deficit had been cut to six points, 27-21.

The momentum shifted a bit to Atholton’s side early in the second half, when Centennial's Myelz Ocadiz and Mike Stefan were banged up and had to temporarily leave the game. Atholton rallied to bring the game within a point at 31-30.

But Centennial would finish the third quarter on a 10-point run. They went into the fourth quarter up by 12 points, 44-32.

After the game, Atholton head coach Jim Albert said his players had battled back twice.

“That’s the competitive spirit,” he said. “That just says a lot about the character of our kids, that they did not hang their heads. They could done that early in the game.” 

True to that, Atholton came back with a 13-2 run to bring them within one point at 46-45. Yet Centennial would never surrender the lead.

On the way to the game becoming tied at 51-51, Centennial would make only one field goal but would hit free throw after free throw to stay in it.

With what Centennial was able to do defensively, it was all they needed.

"We had never been losing [in this game], and we were not going to start now [just] because they made a run," said Eagles head coach Chad Hollwedel.

It would prove to be a great team effort for Centennial. They are a team that lacks a big man, and their leading scorer on the night came off the bench: Keonte Potts, with 14 points. Adams was the only other Eagles player to score in double figures, with 11.

Adams said that it wasn't just the points that mattered:

“Everybody did the little things,” he said. “Everyone just needed to do one thing better than they did the other nights. And everybody did, and we came together as a team, and we ended up getting the win.”

Centennial is now just one win away from playing in the 3A state championship. Their state semifinal game will be against South Hagerstown High on Thursday at the Comcast Center in College Park.

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