Columbia, MD – It appeared the Lakers had done it again.
The Garrett College men's basketball team had erased an eight-point deficit in the final 2:30 to nip Potomac State College of West Virginia University, 73-72, less than two months ago. The fourth-seeded Lakers were seemingly following the same script in Thursday's NJCAA Division II Region 20 quarterfinal, with Kam Heathington scoring off his own missed shot to cap a 9-2 run that gave GC a 72-71 lead with 1:39 remaining.
Except Andre Grant flipped the script, taking a kickout pass from Camren Wilkes and burying a 3-pointer with 40.1 seconds remaining to lift fifth-seeded Potomac State to a 74-72 victory. That trey snapped Garrett's nine-game winning streak while putting a sudden end to the Lakers' season.
Garrett (21-9) had three possessions after Grant's 3-pointer, but one possession ended with a turnover and the next on a missed Heathington jumper. Heathington blocked a Damian Thompson layup attempt with 3.2 seconds remaining to give GC one last shot, but Nasir Coleman's desperation 3-pointer from behind half court fell short.
Garrett College built a 12-point, first-half lead as Carmello Myles scored 11 of his 15 points before the break. The Catamounts trailed 35-28 at intermission, but rallied as Wilkes scored 25 of his game-high 29 points in the second half after being limited by three first-half fouls.
Wilkes (11 rebounds, three assists, three steals) had 10 consecutive points in less than three minutes, turning a 46-41 deficit into a 51-46 Catamount lead with 10:13 remaining.
"Wilkes really had a good second half," said GC head coach Matt McCullough. "He's a really good player and he stepped up for them."
Peter Quaye hit two free throws with 4:16 remaining to stretch PSC's lead to 69-63, but the Lakers answered with their 9-2 run. Myles, who had a transition layup to start the run, tied the game at 70-70 on a tip-in with 2:01 remaining.
After Wilkes split a pair of free throws, Heathington scored on his offensive rebound while he was being fouled. Heathington missed the free throw, but the Lakers had a 72-71 lead.
Wilkes, who had carried the scoring load in the second half, drew several defenders when he got the ball inside. That permitted him to hit Grant (13 points, three steals) with his kickout pass that set up Grant's game-winner.
"We were concentrating on making sure Wilkes didn't beat us," said McCullough of PSC's game-winning possession. "He made a nice pass and Andre [Grant] hit a big shot.".
McCullough noted that the highly physical nature of the game didn't align with the Lakers' strengths.
"When you're allowed to be that physical in the interior, that makes finishing inside so difficult," McCullough observed. "We've relied on getting inside and making plays with our athleticism all year, and that was difficult to do against Potomac State."
Antonio Adams (16 points, seven rebounds), Heathington (12 points, seven rebounds), and Gavin Jackson (11 points) joined Myles in double figures for Garrett, which shot just 38 percent from the field.
GC's performance from the two lines – 3-point and foul – played a key role in the loss.
The Lakers, who shot 37 percent from the 3-point line for the season, shot just 20 percent (3-for-15) in the playoff. GC also shot below its 65 percent seasonal free-throw percentage, making just 60 percent (15-for-25) in the Potomac State loss.
The Lakers were outscored by the Catamounts from the 3-point line, 18-9, and from the foul line, 18-15, a critical 12-point deficit. Those shooting performances, as well as the difficulty with converting layups in traffic, proved to be the difference.
"We missed a couple too many free throws and a couple too many layups," said McCullough.
While McCullough was disappointed with how the season ended, he was proud of how the team played throughout the year.
"When we take some time to reflect and look at the type of year we had, we probably overperformed – and that's a good thing," said McCullough, who has a 73-46 record in four seasons as head coach. "We made strides in a lot of different areas, on the court and off the court. It should be something to build on moving forward."
Notes: Seventh-seeded Chesapeake College pulled the biggest upset of the quarterfinal round, taking out second-seeded Cecil College, 96-83. Top-seeded host Howard Community College defeated eighth-seeded CCBC-Catonsville, 93-85, and third-seeded Montgomery College defeated sixth-seeded CCBC-Dundalk, 78-74.
