Baptist Prep wasn't at its best offensively Friday, but it's a good thing it had its defense to fall back on.
The Eagles held Episcopal Collegiate to just three fourth-quarter points and got a much-needed lift from junior guard Daniel Cobb to beat the host Wildcats 50-47 in the finals the 3A-5 Conference tournament.
Cobb had a team-high 15 points and junior guard Hudson Likens added 14 points for Baptist Prep (20-9), which survived yet another tight encounter with its rival. The Eagles won the first meeting between the two, 56-53, on Dec. 20, after a late three-point attempt by Episcopal Collegiate to tie the game fell short.
The Wildcats won the rematch, 55-54, on Jan. 24, when guard Che Smith scored the game-winning basket with 7 seconds left. The rubber match Friday was nearly identical to those, and that didn't shock Baptist Prep Coach Steve Miller.
"Every game is this way between us," he said. "All three have come down to the last possession, but Episcopal just missed shots late. I want to attribute some of that to our defense.
"There were seven possessions in a row there in that fourth where we stopped them. And then we were able to make some shots when we had to because we did shoot it very well early."
The game was tied 29-29 at halftime, but Episcopal Collegiate (18-11) hit five of its first nine baskets of the third quarter, with Smith nailing a pair of three-pointers, to open up a 42-35 lead. The Wildcats still held a 47-42 advantage following a jumper from senior guard Jace Mitchell at the 4:23 mark of the fourth quarter, but things went cold from there.
"We couldn't make shots," Episcopal Collegiate Coach Brandon Friedel said. "Baptist is a really good, well-coached team. They executed, but we had some big possessions down the stretch where we just came up empty."
Cobb hit two free throws to start a closing 8-0 run for the Eagles. Likens followed with an 8-footer before senior forward Brooks Spoon hit a follow-up basket with 2:09 to go to give Baptist Prep a 48-47 lead.
Cobb and Likens both added free throws over the final 20 seconds, but like the previous two outings, the game wasn't decided until the final possession.
The Wildcats had a chance to tie it with 3 seconds left, but Smith's three-pointer was off just as the final buzzer sounded. Smith finished with a team-high 15 points and Mitchell had 14 for Episcopal Collegiate, which shot 1 for 12 over the final eight minutes.
The Eagles shot 16 of 43 (37.2%) for the game, while the Wildcats were 15 of 46 (32.6%).
Sports on 02/22/2020