Bears rally to beat Mustangs 79-72 in double O/T

Landon visited the tough WCAC Bishop McNamara in Forestville, MD and came out with a thrilling double overtime 79-72 victory. The Mustangs posed a number of challenges for the Bears– Marcus Thornton,a 6’4″ guard headed to William & Mary, the WCAC 35 second rule and a hot, raucous gym.Oh, ya, the home team had another challenge who might be easily overlooked– short, but lighting quick Ibn Muhammed. In the end (and that took a lot of time) it was not just the visitors two All Star players, each of whom had 20 points of the night, but a true team effort.

Momentum in the first quarter quarter was set by the home team’s full court press  and the shooting, in particular, of Thornton who had 8 of his teams 18 points for the 1st eight minutes. McNamara led 18-10.

Landon’s starting line up of Joe McDonald, Darion Atkins, Chris Hudnut, Addison Sarter and Deion Wellington (Tim Hettermanwas out due to an injury suffered in the SFS win) adjusted to the Mustang’s pace. Aid came from Soph Isaiah Colclough and Senior Kellen Miller. Through more effective defense of the Mustang shooters, the eight point first quarter margin was reduced to three at half McNamara 26, Landon 26.

The Bears hit some early buckets, played some good D(including a number of blocks) and took the lead at 3:31 with two FTs by Sarter, 34-33. The Bears’ balance between good D and an efficient and at the end of the 3rd Q, increased its lead to 42-38, Landon.

At 6 minutes of the last period, the visitors had its biggest lead of 46-41, but the Mustangs attacked that margin and with 1:20 remaining, it was a 50-50 tie. Landon kept even or ahead of the home team and it looked quite good with a 56-53 score and only 9.4 seconds on the clock. Mr Thornton showed why William & Mary will be pleased to have him in Williamsburg next year by hitting a 3 pointer.The home clock showed 0:00 remaining, but the referees put 2.8 seconds back. The Bears got off a shot but it missed.

The first overtime saw the home team build a 62-58 lead at 1:58 remaining of the 4 minute period. Landon reversed the advantage to Bears 68-65 with 19,4 seconds remaining. With 5.4 seconds remaining one of the Mustangs (there were no programs avaialble) with the score McNamara 67 Landon 68. He hit the first to tie it up but missed the second. End of O/T #2, 68-68.

The final 4 minutes has a lot to do with Darion Adkins’ controlling the boards and Joe McDonald’s ball handling. The Bears hit some key FTs and the Mustangs tried too many 3’s. The final few seconds were agonizing, but the final score was Landon 79-72.

Landon Scoring

Adkins                            20 points

McDonald                      20

Wellington                      16     including 6 for 6 from the FT line

Sarter                               14

Hudnut                              9