Parkville Defeats Aberdeen in 49-48 Thriller

Parkville's Dennis Hughes was feeling a little under the weather coming into tonight's game and started the contest in an unfamiliar place: the bench. But that's not where he finished the game.

Hughes got a key offensive rebound off a Jamal Williams miss, and then went back up hard to score his only 2 points of the game. It was the game's decisive basket with 14.3 seconds left, which gave Parkville a thrilling 49-48 victory  in the MPSSAA  3A North Regional Semifinal matchup.

Aberdeen did get one last attempt in a short jumper from the Eagles' Mike Davenport, which rolled in and out with 3 seconds left. The Knights prevented Aberdeen from getting another shot off.

Hughes was ecstatic after getting the game-winning bucket, but said there's a lot more to be done for this team.

"Coach said to keep going hard after offensive rebounds. Even though I wasn't feeling good, he told me to keep battling and working at it," said Hughes. "It felt good when that shot went in, but even better when the one at the other end didn't go in. Our goal is the Comcast Center, and that is what we have to stay focused on."

James Milton led the Knights with 23 points, 12 rebounds and 3 steals, while Williams added 12 points and 6 rebounds. Hughes added 10 rebounds to his 2 points, none more important than the last one.

Gerrae Williams led Aberdeen with 15 points and 5 rebounds, 4 assists and 4 steals, and Tevon Saddler pitched in with 9 points and 9 rebounds. Brian Atkins and Davenport each finished with 8 points for the Eagles.

The game went back and forth as neither team led by more than 8 points, and when one side would throw a blow, the other would respond with a shot of their own.

Aberdeen struck first, shooting a blistering 62 percent (8-13) from the field in the first quarter. Atkins and Davenport each scored 6 points in the quarter and the Eagles jumped out to a 17-10 lead.

Parkville ended the quarter on a 6-0 run thanks in part to a Milton slam off a nice pass from Isaiah Tripp, and a lay-in resulting from an offensive rebound from Skylar Collins, to cut the Eagle lead to 17-16 after one.

The Knights stepped up their defensive intensity in the second, which resulted in some rare fast-break points. A steal and a layup by Tripp was soon followed by a picture-perfect break from Williams to Collins to Clive Edwards for an easy 2 points, giving Parkville a 25-19 lead.

A bucket by Atkins ended the Parkville run, but Milton then responded with back-to-back inside moves for 4 straight and the Knights had their largest lead of the evening at 29-21.

Aberdeen then came back with an answer when Saddler connected on a three pointer and Williams got an easy layup, and at the break Parkville held a slim 30-28 lead.

Offense was hard to come by in the third quarter; the two teams combined to shoot 6 of 29 from the field. Milton scored another 4 straight to give Parkville a 5-point edge, but Williams countered with a three-pointer. Going into the fourth, the Knights led 37-36.

Aberdeen jumped out to an early advantage in the fourth as Williams nailed a three from the corner and Marquisse Branch hit a short jumper in the lane to give the Eagles a 42-37 advantage.

As things started to look a bit dismal for the Knights, Milton took his game to another level. He converted two free throws, had a strong drive inside for a basket, and then would not be denied as he rebounded a Tripp missed throw along with his own miss before finally converting on a short jumper to tie the game at 44 with just under three minutes to play.

Once again Aberdeen countered with two big blows as Atkins and Dwayne McGill scored on back-to-back to possessions and the Eagles led once again 48-44.

From that point forward, however, it was Parkville who came up with all the clutch plays.

Williams drove to the basket for a layup to cut the Eagle lead to two, then  Collins came up with a huge steal and pass to Williams, who was fouled on his layup attempt. Williams made one of two free throws to bring the Knights within one with just 1:10 remaining.

Aberdeen moved the ball around quickly on its possession before finally finding a wide-open Williams under the basket. His layup attempt rolled out and Hughes came down with the rebound with 36 seconds left, setting up the dramatic finish.

Parkville coach Rod Norris was proud of the way his team came through. "What a good dog fight that was," he said. "I put up on the board at half that we were going to have to show some willpower, and down the stretch we did that. We finally made the plays that we had to to win the game."

Speaking about those final frantic seconds, Norris added, "That was scary as hell, but I'm glad we live to play another game."

The pain showed on Aberdeen's head coach Richard Harts' face. "I really feel for these kids," said Hart. "They gave their hearts out and it hurts, but in the end it's a life lesson."

Milton was very pleased with victory, but had other thoughts on his mind saying, "I'm ready for Friday and this time we're going to get them!"

"Them" would be Milford Mill, the thorn in Parkville's side the last few years.  The two teams will meet next on Friday evening at 7 p.m. at Milford.  The winner of that game will move on to the Comcast Center.