Boys Basketball: Young Scorers Lead Dulaney Through Round One of Playoffs

With 3.2 seconds left in regulation, guard Gavan Scanlan stood at the foul line, the Thomas Johnson gym silent save for a few students trying to distract the sophomore from the task at hand.

Make the free throw: the game is out of reach, eliminating the No. 8 seed Patriots in the first round of the 4A Boys Basketball North Region playoffs.

Miss the free throw: there is still a chance, albeit slim, that the Patriots tie the game, in which they've taken momentum, and send the game into overtime.

As Scanlan’s shot dropped through the net, a collective cheer from Dulaney fans rang through the gym, while Thomas Johnson fans sat in deep thought about how close they had come.

Scanlan missed his second free-throw attempt, but it was of no consequence. The 63-59 score was all the Lions needed to take the victory and survive for another game, another practice.

“We had such a great practice last night. I let the guys go at the end of practice, instead of doing our team run, I let them just kind of shoot around,” head coach Matt Lochte said. “Guys just didn’t want to leave the gym. I said, 'Let’s get back in this gym Saturday.'”

Dulaney, the No. 9 seed, played like it didn’t want the season to end, and the seniors played like they didn’t want their careers at Dulaney to be over.

Senior Nick Libertini sacrificed his body, leaping to steal a pass as Patriot guard Michael Skvorak fouled him from behind. Libertini crashed to the floor and had to leave the game momentarily. Senior guard Jake Mathey exemplified unselfish play, moving the ball from the point and setting up his teammates while playing tough defense. And senior captain Justin Armstrong led the team in offensive rebounds and helped coach his teammates, giving them instructions from the floor and the bench.

But when the Lions needed baskets, they turned to their younger players.

Junior Kyle Williams led the team with 22 points and was the unquestioned leader on the floor. He scored Dulaney’s first six points of the game then went on an 11-point tear in the third quarter. Aiding Williams in the scoring department was Scanlan, who finished with a quiet 17 points, eight of which came in the fourth quarter.

“I said if [Thomas Johnson head coach John Manley] went man-to-man. … we’re going to isolate Kyle, we’re going to isolate Gavan. We’re going to have Gavan and Kyle be our two leading scorers, we’re going to score 60-plus, keep them in the 50 range. It really couldn’t have been drawn up better,” Lochte said.

Mathey said Willams and Scanlan give him a sense of comfort; he knows he can go to them at any time.

“When they’re scoring the ball, you can just keep going right back to them every time. [Isolation] plays, whatever,” Mathey said. “They’re just go-to guys.”

After Dulaney took a 12-point lead, its largest of the game, near the end of the third quarter, it seemed as if they were poised to take a victory with ease.

But entering the final period, the Patriots increased their defensive intensity. They forced Dulaney into several turnovers and mounted a comeback.

Going on a 13-2 run to start the quarter, the Patriots suddenly found themselves leading, 50-49, for the first time since the beginning of the second quarter.

But right after the Lions’ lost the lead, Scanlan answered with a three-point shot to take the lead back. And after a Williams steal on the Patriots' next possession, Will Darley hit another three to increase the lead to five.

The Patriots battled back to within a point with just over a minute remaining, but three Dulaney free throws put the game away.

The Lions' next game is Monday night against the Patterson Clippers, who just won the Baltimore City Division I High School Basketball Championship.

“About five years ago we beat the number-one team in the region,” Lochte said. “Why can’t we do it again?”