Lusby, MD – Being that it was both basketball teams’ season opener, both squads came out desperately wanting to get into the win column to start the season. St. Charles did that as they kept close with Patuxent the entire way, and finally snatching the lead away, and toying with the helpless Panthers defense as the waning seconds ticked off the clock.
To start the game, Patuxent was at a disadvantage. They only could dress 8 players as the remaining players on their team are playing in tomorrow’s state championship game for football. They also were without last year’s leading scorer Darus Maddox for the first quarter due to a coach’s decision.
In the first quarter, both teams were sizing each other up, and being hesitant to try anything complex. As a result, the quarter moved by quickly, as there were only 5 fouls committed by both teams in the quarter. Patuxent emerged with an 11-8 lead. In the second quarter, the Maddox show came to Patuxent, as Darus Maddox came off the bench, and scored 14 of the teams 18 points in the quarter. St. Charles hung around however, and even outscored the Panthers in the quarter. For St. Charles, Cameron Sullivan lit up the net with two three-point baskets on consecutive possessions, the latter of the two tying the game before Maddox put up a 3 on the other end of the court. Going into half, the score was 29-28 Patuxent.
Coming out of halftime sparked a change in game plan for St. Charles. In the second half, they began driving to the basket nearly every possession and causing the Panthers to get into foul trouble. The undermanned Patuxent team struggled to adjust, and as a result, went over the double bonus with 2 minutes left in the third quarter. There was a 6 possession stretch where every point the Spartans scored came from the charity stripe. Patuxent did what they could, and even got their crowd into it as Maddox rose up and threw a down a two handed fast break slam dunk. The always rambunctious student section, tonight clad in togas, began cheering as loudly as they had all night. The score going into the final quarter was 47-45 Patuxent.
In the fourth quarter, Patuxent was plagued by turnovers on offense, and fouls on defense. St Charles bullied the tentative Panthers defense, and grabbed seemingly every board in the quarter. With 1:17 left in the game, they finally took the lead away from the Panthers following a pair of free throws by Sean Scott. Following a Patuxent turnover, the Spartans had a possession that lasted 52 seconds as they passed the ball around to each other, and the Panthers defense could do nothing as they were in serious foul trouble. Finally, with 11 seconds left, Sean Scott put up a layup, and was fouled. The ball went into the basket, as well as the ensuing free throw. This pushed the lead to 61-56. A foul and two free throws by Gary Louers on the other end made it 61-58 St. Charles. This would prove to be the final score.
In the game, Darus Maddox led all scorers with 28 points. Jaquan Kelley also chipped in 10, but was limited in the second half due to his 4 fouls. For St. Charles, Sean Scott had 17 points, and Cameron Sullivan had 10 points on the night. St Charles improves to 1-0, and will move on to play Calvert at home next Wednesday night. Patuxent falls to 0-1, and will play South River at home this Monday night with their full team back.