SUNNYVALE — Don’t count the Eastside Panthers out.
The second-smallest school in the WBAL, with just eight players on its boys basketball roster, seven suited up for Tuesday and a coach leading both the boys and girls teams, now sits in sole possession of first place in the league with two games left after closing on a 9-0 run for a 49-45 win at King’s Academy.
Trailing 36-29 early in the fourth quarter and 45-40 with two minutes left, the Panthers looked like they would come up short on the road before a frantic final push. Isaiah Saams-Hoy started things with a putback, and a steal and layup from sophomore Raymond Reece cut the lead to one. Out of a timeout, Reece got another steal, and Saams-Hoy found Will Mustain for his only field goal of the night, a mid-range baseline jumper to give Eastside (14-6, 11-1 WBAL) the lead. A block by Saams-Hoy at the other end forced the Knights to foul, and Saams-Hoy converted two free throws with 31.6 left to put his team up by three. A contested off-balanced three was missed by TKA, and one last free throw by Saams-Hoy to cap off his 26-point night sealed the game. He missed his second free throw, but the Panthers got the rebound for good measure as they held an unfathomable 12-1 advantage on the glass in the quarter.
“We’ve been down by much more,” Saams-Hoy said. “I knew we could pull it out.”
Having come back from down double digits against Sacred Heart Prep on January 22, a seven-point deficit was nothing for the Panthers, and they didn’t waver even after a huge 3-pointer by Malachi Mitchell put King’s Academy (15-7, 10-2) up by five late.
That’s when Eastside, having played just six men on the night, amped up the pressure. It led to Reece’s two steals and ultimately helped flip the game on its head.
“We were ready for the press, though they did switch to a man press we weren’t used to instead of their normal 1-2-1-1,” said Nate Carroll, King’s Academy’s first-year head coach. “It’s a matter of coming to the ball, and we didn’t come to the ball. We made the same mistake twice at the end.”
It’s defense that kept the Panthers in the game when they struggled to get going offensively, scoring nine points in the first quarter and only six in the third.
“We love putting defense first,” Saams-Hoy said. “If we get stops on defense, we know we’ll be able to get more opportunities to score.”
A putback by Million Jackson, one of four sophomores to see the court for Eastside, cut the deficit to 31-29 late in the third, but Noah Short responded with a 3-pointer to send the hosts into the fourth with a two-possession lead. That advantage would grow two minutes into the fourth on a drive by Elijah Malabuyo, but the Panthers, who started the season 1-5 with losses to Westmoor and American, weren’t to be counted out.
“They just scrapped for it more,” Carroll said. “With just six guys, it’s incredible. I don’t know what to say to that.”
Jackson responded with a 3-pointer, Saams-Hoy scored in the lane and Reece tied it at 36 with a putback. Still, the Knights wouldn’t give in, going back in front on two free throws from Short, who finished the night with 10 points. Mitchell led the hosts with 16, including an up-and-under move to go up four after an Eastside offensive foul.
The Panthers led for barely two full minutes on the night, with an early 5-3 advantage as Saams-Hoy scored all of their eight points in the first quarter. They wouldn’t lead again until Mustain’s jumper with just under a minute to go.
“Coach always tells us to be ready,” said Mustain of his only basket from the field. “We expected them to collapse on Isaiah, so I knew that if he drove, they’d suck in and one of us would be open.”
Jackson finished with nine for the Panthers, who still have work to do in order to close out the league title. They beat Pinewood by 43 when the teams first met, but next Tuesday’s trip to SHP, a rematch of a game that went to overtime last month, certainly won’t be a cakewalk.
“I believed we could be here,” head coach Donovan Blythe said. “If the leader believes that, the soldiers will follow.”
