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BALTIMORE — Perry Hall point guard Aaron Butler turned to 6-foot-8 forward La’Quill Hardnett and said it was “time to turn it up.” With each dwindling second, hope seemed to fizzle for Perry Hall, who trailed by eight points with three and a half minutes to go, and couldn’t suppress Lake Clifton’s chances in the most pivotal moments.
Without heralded wing Anthony Higgs (illness), Hardnett had no choice but to hitch on to Butler’s words and shoulder the colossal load.
On top of it, Hardnett was tasked with guarding Lake Clifton’s 6-foot-8 Andre Rafus (offers from Georgetown, Kansas, Providence and TCU) and had to tightrope across the finish with four fouls
Up until the frantic last seconds of Friday night’s pit between No. 2 Lake Clifton and No. 4 Perry Hall at Morgan State University, Hardnett pulled through for the shorthanded Gators, accounting for eight of the Gators’ 10 overtime points including the final dagger on a fast break slam with 2.9 seconds left to seal a 63-60 win.
“My point guard looked at me, and told me it’s time to turn it up,” Hardnett said, who finished with 16 points and seven rebounds. “He told me to do me, and I knew it was time to go.”
Friday night’s atmosphere inside the hollow gym of Talmadge Hill Field House imitated a state-tournament feel, with a large crowd and two heavyweights in their respective classes going head-to-head.
Perry Hall (11-1) led by as many as 13 in the first half, when it was 19-6 early in the second quarter. After that, Lake Clifton (10-2) outscored the Gators 35-13 for the next 12 minutes and maintained their largest lead of the game, 41-32, with just under two minutes left in the third.
The run featured two rim-rattling slams by Lakers’ star power forward Andre Rafus (12 points), and an intensified Lake Clifton 2-3 zone succumbing Perry Hall’s offense to 4-for-17 from the floor and a bevy of missed free throws.
Lake Clifton led 45-38 at the end of the third quarter, before Perry Hall staked a punctuating comeback with a 9-0 run.
Right after Steven Parker extended Lake Clifton’s lead to 52-44 with 3:32 to go, the Gators clamped down and chipped away with their “go-to” 1-3-1 zone, in Hardnett’s words.
Butler’s layup got Perry Hall within six, 52-46, with 3:10 remaining, and after forcing a Lake Clifton turnover, James Rider rushed to the right wing off an inbounds play to knock down a fade-away, catch-and-shoot 3 to bring the game to 52-49 at the 2:30 mark.
On the ensuing possession, and with most of the crowd on its feet, Perry Hall disrupted a Lake Clifton pass and the ball found its way into the hands of Hardnett, who then rifled a bounce pass to Darrell Green (game-high 24 points) for a layup that made it a one-point game.
Green finished a put-back at the rim, absorbing heavy contact on the baseline after a Lakers miss to give Perry Hall a 53-52 lead with under two minutes remaining. Rasheed Brown then made the front end of a one-and-one to send the game to overtime at 53-53.
On the first possession of overtime, Rider heaved a lob at the rim to Hardnett, designing to get Rafus out of the game with his fifth and disqualifying foul. The plan worked to perfection (1:02 mark in the attached video) as Hardnett was fouled by Rafus attempting to make a play on the ball.
Hardnett sank two free throws to push Perry Hall ahead, 55-53, with 3:53 left in overtime. After Tyrone Thomas tied the game back up at 55-55, Hardnett ensued with a contact layup to put the Gators ahead, 57-55.
Parker’s finger roll lay-in knotted the game at 57-57 before Hardnett put the ball on the deck and finished a contested free-throw-line jumper to give Perry Hall lead once again, 59-57.
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No. 2 Lake Clifton-No. 4 Perry Hall tied at 53-53 heading to overtime https://t.co/9RQ31xg8yh
Lake Clifton jumped ahead with 1:10 to go, 60-59, after Parker’s lone free throw and Brown’s pull-up jumper.
On Perry Hall’s second to last possession, Rider hauled in the offensive rebound off a Fredo Carter miss from downtown and dumped it off to Butler who finished the go-ahead layup at the rim.
Then, 13 seconds later, Perry Hall recovered a loose ball at midcourt, scurried the pass to Hardnett who flushed the put-away slam.
After the game, many Perry Hall players exclaimed the 12-point loss to previous No. 24 Patterson the day after Christmas was the best thing that could’ve happened to them. The Gators had an overdose of confidence after their 23-point drubbing of No. 2 Baltimore Poly on Dec. 22, and “needed to be humbled,” said Rider.
Now, there’s a clearer sense of direction.
“We’re going to take this all the way to states,” Rider said.
