January 29, 1997|By Brant James | Brant James,CONTRIBUTING WRITER
Severn boys basketball coach Charles Duckett was as unhappy, or more so, with his 63-62 win over Curley yesterday as Friars head coach Dan Popera was miffed about the loss.
Popera's only regret was a set play he had drawn with 23 seconds left facing a two-point deficit got nixed by a turnover. But for Duckett, his 13th-ranked Admirals' escape was not marred by regret, but consternation in watching just one player -- junior Dennard Melton -- give a full effort for four quarters. Neither Duckett nor his players were available for comment after a lengthy post-game meeting.
"One guy came to play, the rest came to watch," assistant coach Ralph Burley said of his team. Melton led all scorers with 35 points, running the Admirals' offense at various times from point and shooting guard positions. No other Admiral scored more than eight points.
The one-man effort was still enough to give Severn (12-3) its 11th consecutive win and at least a share of the MIAA B Conference Division 2 lead.
Curley's offense was much more balanced behind Chuck Fuller (16), Mike Palmere (14), Brian Hubbard (11), and Michael Brice (10).
Curley fell to 13-6 and at 6-3 is in second place in the MIAA B Conference Division 1.
Severn had apparently finally put away the pesky Friars with 2: 57 left in the game when Greg Cooper's three-pointer gave it a 53-45 lead. But Fuller kept making clutch three-pointers from the corner to cut the margin to 56-54 with 1: 14 left.
Severn's lone positive in the fourth quarter was in hitting eight of 10 double-bonus free throw chances, and Melton gave the Admirals a 61-59 lead with 26 seconds left by hitting his fifth in six tries down the stretch.
Popera set up a play to go for the win following a timeout with 23 seconds left, but Melton, working along the sideline in a high trap, picked off point guard Brian Montoya's pass and hit Jeff Haskins for an uncontested layup.
"The only regret is that turnover," Popera said. "We called a timeout, we drew up a play to win. We were going for a three. You want to get the opportunity to at least get the shot off and see what happens."
Chuck Fuller gave the Friars one last gasp when he hit another three-pointer that cut the deficit to 63-62 with four seconds left, and Curley fouled Jeff Hatch on the inbounds play with two ticks left. Hatch missed both foul shots, but Curley could not get off another shot.
Pub Date: 1/29/97
