Smithsburg (14-5, 10-3) battled back in the final 1:06 with a 12-3 run to chop the lead down to 87-86 with six seconds left, capped by three straight Trent Springs foul shots.

The Leopards put the pressure on Railing, fouling him with five seconds remaining. The senior point guard sank his free throws to give the Hubs their final margin of victory.

Springs bounced a final 3-point attempt off the rim at the buzzer in the Leopards’ final shot to tie the game.

“Our kids stepped up and made plays when they needed to,” North coach Kevin Hartman said. “Honestly, I thought Smithsburg did the same thing. It was a great high school basketball game. There was no quit by either team.”

Smithsburg coach Eric Gerber agreed.

“Congratulations to North High for playing well,” he said. “I am proud of the way that we battled back to tie the game in regulation. I am also proud of the way that we battled back in overtime from a 10-point deficit to get a shot to tie it. Unfortunately, we came up short.”

Ronald Hardy scored at the buzzer in regulation for Smithsburg to tie the score at 70 and force overtime.

Smithsburg held an 11-3 lead with 1:27 remaining in the first quarter. At that point, Hartman called a timeout.

“I just told our players that we were getting good looks,” Hartman said. “I also told them to play good defense and those shots would drop. We knew that Smithsburg could shoot it. So, we had to keep changing our defenses to keep them off-balanced.”

The Hubs rallied to build a 54-41 advantage with 7:24 left in the game.

Railing had 20 points and six assists, while Genc Pllana collected 14 points and 16 rebounds for the Hubs. Isaiah Keyes added 16 points and four steals, while Max Ober scored 15 points for North.

Springs had 32 points, seven rebounds and five assists for the Leopards. Jordan Fortson added 25 points, eight rebounds, four steals and four assists for the Leopards.

JV: Smithsburg 56-50 (S: Josh Miller 20, NH: Nick Karlen 17).

N. Hagerstown 89, Smithsburg 86
NORTH HAGERSTOWN (10-9, 8-5)
Ober 15, Pllana 14, Keyes 16, Colvin 8, Railing 20, Yacyk 5, Peralta 11. Totals 32 22-34 89.
SMITHSBURG (14-5, 10-3)
Spickler 7, Springs 32, Hardy 7, King 9, Pierre 1, Fortson 25, Wynne 3, Hogue 2. Totals 29 19-25 86.
N. Hagerstown    7    23    22    18    19    —    89
Smithsburg    11    16    14    29    16    —    86
3-point goals — North 3 (Pllana, Railing 2). Smithsburg 9 (Springs 3, King, Fortson 4, Wynne).
 

On Tuesday, the mantra fell on deaf ears, but then again, it didn’t matter.

The Wildcats started quickly to build an early 8-0 lead and maintained the advantage, while struggling with their true identity, to manhandle North Hagerstown 61-46 in an MVAL Antietam game.

“Our offensive execution wasn’t at the level I wanted,” said Mowbray. “Once we got them out of their zone and into man, we didn’t execute. We wanted to play fast early because their bench was a little depleted, but then we had trouble getting into our offense.”

The Wildcats (7-9, 5-6) got everything they needed in the first 5 1/2 minutes of the game as they built a 10-1 lead en route to an 18-5 lead at the end of the quarter.

Williamsport led 28-11 at the half, a 17-point advantage that North Hagerstown didn’t crack until the final 1.8 seconds of the game.

North (8-9, 6-5) struggled to find a rhythm as it played without starting center Andrew Yacyk, who sat on the bench in street clothes because of an ankle injury.

“Missing Yacyk hurt and we struggled to score in the first half,” said North coach Kevin Hartman. “Then in the second half, we tried to cut into the lead and missed shots. They got all the stops and got easy scores.

“We just didn’t make the shots. I wasn’t upset with the shots we took. We didn’t defend well.”

Williamsport’s lead forced North to go to man pressure to get back into the game. Max Ober led the Hubs’ pressure, but it didn’t translate into any points.

The Hubs’ inability to score allowed the Wildcats to get by with less than perfect play to maintain the lead.

“We are a methodical team,” Mowbray said. “We are not a fast-paced team. Once we got the lead, we wanted to get into our pace by running the offense and getting five or six passes and get high-percentage shots. Sometimes, we didn’t get the entry passes we needed to get started.”

The aesthetics of the game didn’t matter as the Wildcats moved to a 55-30 lead with 3:57 remaining before clearing the bench.

Tyler Wise led Williamsport with 17 points while Sterling Christy added 15. Isaiah Keyes led North with 13 points, while J.R. Railing finished with 12 and Nick Colvin had 11.

JV: North Hagerstown, 50-40.

Williamsport 61, N. Hagerstown 46
NORTH HAGERSTOWN (8-9, 6-5)
Medley 4, Ober 6, Pllana 2, Keyes 13, Colvin 11, Railing 12. Totals 15 15-19 46.
WILLIAMSPORT (7-9, 5-6)
Crabtree 3, Jackson 6, Butts 8, Christy 15, T. Myers 4, Aleshire 6, Wise 17, Fridley 2. Totals 19 21-26 61.
N. Hagerstown    5    6    14    21    —    46
Williamsport    18    10    14    19    —    61
3-point goals — North Hagerstown 1 (Railing), Williamsport 2 (Crabtree, Jackson). Fouled out — North: Peralta. Technical Foul — North: Peralta.

J.R. Railing and Isaiah Keyes guided the Hubs through the dicey parts of a tense fourth quarter on Friday as the Hubs counter-punched their way to a 69-65 MVAL Antietam victory over Catoctin.

Railing scored 23 points and Keyes added 16, and the duo combined for 11 points in the fourth quarter as the Hubs outpointed the Cougars in a close game that should have never been.

“Railing and Keyes not only handled the ball, but they made the shots we needed to answer Catoctin’s guards. Our guards went toe-to-toe with their guards,” said North coach Kevin Hartman.

They had to in order to bring North off the ropes.

The Hubs (8-7, 6-5) did all the right things while surviving some first-half foul trouble to post a 35-16 halftime lead. North had lost Nick Colvin, Andrew Yacyk and Genc Pllana with two fouls each — even though it was in control with a 17-7 lead — by the 7:46 mark of the second quarter.

North rode out the half with Railing controlling the ball and the offense while guards Max Ober and Keyes joined Will Peralta on the back line of the defense. In fact, the Hubs expanded the lead to 19 with the group.

Suddenly, the tables switched after the half.

Catoctin (2-14, 1-9) unloaded eight of its nine 3s in the second half and Tyler Smith asserted himself inside as the Cougars began to get back into the game.

“I told the guys not to look at their record, Catoctin will play you to the final buzzer,” Hartman said. “I think we got a little on our heels because of the big lead, but I don’t think we allowed the game to get away from us. They started to hit their shots.”

Fouls began to hamper Colvin, Yacyk and Peralta in the third quarter, allowing Catoctin to make a run.

Josh Laramore hit three of his four 3s in the third quarter to help get the Cougars within 54-40 by the end of the third quarter. Railing and Keyes scored nine of North’s final 14 points in the period to help the Hubs maintain the lead.

North’s glue started peeling in the fourth quarter, as Catoctin unloaded a 13-0 run midway through the period — capped by Alex Kennedy’s 3 — to claw within 59-57 with 1:55 remaining.

The Hubs looked to Railing and Keyes — with a little help from Pllana — to re-establish a 65-58 lead with 47 seconds to go.

That run allowed North to survive a technical foul assessed when the officials called the Hubs for six players on the floor when they only had four. The call was apparently made because the official scorer said Ober didn’t properly check in before taking the floor. The officials put the ball in play before the mistake was rectified.

Keyes and Pllana each hit free throws in the final 21 seconds to ice the game.

Pllana finished with 10 points as North’s only other scorer with double figures.

Smith finished with 22 while Kennedy had 18 and Laramore added 15 for the Cougars.

“We told the kids we wanted to take time off the clock and run our offense, but they rushed,” Hartman said. “But to the kids’ credit, they did a great job hitting free throws, rebounding and making a few defensive stops when we needed them.”

JV: North, 57-52, OT (NH: Nick Karlen 19).

North Hagerstown 69, Catoctin 65
NORTH HAGERSTOWN (8-7, 6-4)
Medly 4, Ober 4, Pllana 10, Keyes 16, Colvin 2, Railing 23, Yacyk 3, peralta 7. Totals 26 14-20 69.
CATOCTIN (2-14, 1-9)
Tonkans 5, Laramore 15, Vaniver 4, Kennedy 18, Watkins 2, Smith 22. Totals 20 16-20 65.
North Hagestown    17    18    19    15    —    69
Catoctin    7    9    24    25    —    65
3-point goals — North 3 (Railing, Keyes, Pllana), Catoctin 9 (Kennedy 4, Laramore 4, Tonkans). Technical foul — North bench. Fouled out — North (Yacyk), Catoctin (Vandiver).

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In the opening act, Smithsburg defeated Loudoun County (Va.) 66-55 before South Hagerstown took care of Huntingtown 56-42. After Oakdale downed Brunswick 61-52 in the third game, the host Hubs fought tooth and nail with Middletown before pulling out a 52-49 victory.

“We had a thin bench tonight and relied on some guys who stepped up,” said North coach Kevin Hartman. “You can say this truly was a team effort all around.”

The Hubs dressed only nine, playing without the services of injured Teddy Schoeck and Max Ober.

It all came about after North (2-5) blew two leads but found a resurgence of energy in the dwindling moments.

North used a 12-0 run in the second quarter to take a 21-11 lead. The Hubs still owned an eight-point advantage in the fourth quarter, leading 44-36 after a basket by Nick Colvin.

But Middletown guard Zach Fontenot caught fire with three buckets, eventually knotting the score at 45-all with 2:45 remaining.

Genc Pllana hit a trey for North but Middletown responded with two buckets and a 49-48 lead — the Knights’ first lead of the game — with 1:12 remaining.

But Pllana hit two free throws to help North regain a 50-49 lead before Colvin stole a pass in the front court and scored for the final margin of victory.

“(J.R.) Railing, (Andrew) Yacyk and Colvin had their best games,” said Hartman.

Not one Hub hit double figures, but everything was spread out. Railing had nine points, Colvin and Pllana eight apiece and Will Peralta had seven.

Ethan Winn led Middletown (3-2) with 15 points and Fontenot had 13.

 

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“We shot 30 percent from the field, 11 of 21 at the line, got hammered on the boards,” said Smithsburg coach Eric Gerber.

Sound like a recipe for victory?

“We’re going to have those kind of problems and we aren’t big, so we’ve got to make up for it on defense and force turnovers,” said Gerber.

The Leopards (5-2, 4-0) forced 20 turnovers — most of which came at two critical junctures of the game — and then went into stalling tactics late.

Trailing 12-5, Smithsburg scored the final seven points of the first quarter to pull into a tie, then built a 20-14 lead at halftime after North Hagerstown (1-5, 1-3) committed nine turnovers — seven coming on successive possessions.

Smithsburg jumped out to a 25-16 lead early in the third period, but the Hubs made a run and cut the deficit to 25-24 on a conventional three-point play by Will Peralta with 3:13 left in the quarter.

But Smithsburg forced two quick North turnovers and after each one made the Hubs pay dearly, as Jordan Fortson and Kevin Gibson each drained 3-pointers for a 31-24 lead.

Gerber showed signs of working the clock in the last minute of the third quarter, then came out with a four corners offense to open the fourth quarter. North coach Kevin Hartman was not going to bring his team out of its 2-3 zone into a man defense.

“We thought the kids worked hard to play the game this way, and that’s what we elected to do,” said Gerber. “I was surprised (North) didn’t come out of the zone earlier.”

North relented with four minutes remaining, and Smithsburg outscored North 10-2 the rest of the game — the last five points coming at the foul line.

“Staying in the zone was still our best bet,” said Hartman. “It’s just the turnovers and that’s being a young team. I thought our defense played well and our rebounding was what it needed to be to win. It’s just the turnovers.”

Smithsburg hit 30 percent (12 of 40) from the field while North shot 33 percent (14 of 42). But six of Smithsburg’s baskets came from 3-point land.

The Hubs ruled the rebounding margin, 35-24.

Fortson ended with 10 points to lead Smithsburg and Trent Springs added nine. Peralta was the only North player in double figures with 10.

JV: Smithsburg, 62-47 (S: Josh Miller 24; N: Preston Carey 16).

Smithsburg 41, North Hagerstown 31
SMITHSBURG (5-2, 3-0)
Spickler 4, Springs 9, Hardy 6, Pierre 1, Fortson 10, Hogue 3, Gibson 3, King 5. Totals 12 11-21 41.
NORTH HAGERSTOWN (1-5, 1-3)
Ober 0, Keyes 5, Yacyk 4, Peralta 10, Schoeck 4, Colvin 8, Railing 0. Totals 14 3-9 31.
Smithsburg    12    8    11    10    —    41
North    12    2    10    7    —    31
3-point goals—Smithsburg 6 (Fortson 2, Springs 2, Gibson, King). Rebounds—Smithsburg 24 (Spickler 10), North 35 (Peralta 7). Turnovers—Smithsburg 11, North 20.