Whitman overcomes B-CC with a pair of clutch free throws late in OT
In a wild back-and-forth Maryland Class 4A West II region final between a pair of Bethesda rivals, DeRosa and the Vikings emerged victorious, 61-58. After drawing a Barons foul on an inbounds pass with nine-tenths of a second left in overtime, DeRosa delivered in the clutch, earning the third-seeded Vikings another home game in the state quarterfinals Saturday against Springbrook.
'Nobody works harder than me, I get up 200 free throws a day, sometimes more,' DeRosa thought to himself while standing at the line. 'This dude just fouled me… that's ballgame.'
With the win, the Vikings (20-4) move one step closer to returning to the University of Maryland's Xfinity Center, where they fell in the Maryland Class 4A state title game last season to Frederick. Coach Chris Lun's team overcame a difficult shooting night, making just 4 of 20 attempts from three-point range.
'Our team is so close together, in the huddles we were just talking and staying composed,' said senior Sean Curran, who finished with a team-high 20 points and made all four of the team's threes. 'We knew the whole time we had each other's backs.'
Minutes earlier, DeRosa thought he had clinched the win with a pair of free throws for a three-point lead with less than 10 seconds remaining in regulation. But B-CC guard Tim Byrd drew a foul on a layup and converted the three-point play to send the game to overtime.
The Barons (13-11), spurred by a 20-point performance from junior Jack Allen, took a two-point lead into the final minute of the overtime period. But DeRosa found his way to the line to tie the game at 58, then drew the last-second foul to take the two-point lead. B-CC then turned the ball over on the ensuing inbounds play which led to a final free throw from senior Evan Brown to ice the game.
Two weeks ago, Lun's team walked into the Barons' gym and made a school-record 14 three-pointers in the first half of an eventual 16-point win. With the perimeter shots not falling Thursday, the Vikings found offense from other sources — notably sophomore Max Williams, who had 18 points.
'I prefer us making threes instead of shooting 4 for 20,' Lun said with a smile in the locker room after the game. 'But our guys didn't wilt, they didn't turn on each other when overtime was forced.'
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