It took only a few minutes after the final buzzer sounded for the ladder to find its way onto the court. Patterson Mill is familiar with this operation by now.
Thursday night was Huskies coach Jeroud Clark’s fifth time cutting down the nets in his gym after a regional victory. Patterson Mill topped Joppatowne, 69-47, for the Huskies’ third Class 1A North Region II title in four years. It’s become a tradition after each one to celebrate this way.
This was the second time chopping down nylon for juniors Colin Luddy and James Hammond. They did so during their freshman seasons, but they are leaders now. Luddy acknowledges that the net got the best of him two years ago, a rematch he was surely looking forward to.
“It took me, like, five minutes to get it down last time,” Luddy said. “You gotta pull the net down hard at the top. Now we have experience with this.”
And on the other end of the court, Patterson Mill’s girls squad was doing the same thing. They had first dibs on the latter after beating Havre de Grace, 41-26, for a region crown of their own in the first game of Thursday’s playoff doubleheader, a memorable night for all who pushed both Patterson Mill basketball teams to the state quarterfinals.
“It’s special for our kids,” Clark said as his team took turns with the scissors to his left. “You saw our student body. We’re packed all the way to the top of the rafters. I always tell the kids, ‘Make the most of your moments here and just enjoy the heck out of them.’ That’s what I told them pregame.”
Thursday’s schedule came to be after school closures in Harford County postponed the girls game that was scheduled for Wednesday. And it now forces them to play on consecutive days.
That delay didn’t affect the Patterson Mill girls. The Huskies led Havre de Grace 24-13 at halftime then 37-18 after three quarters before putting the finishing touches on a 15-point victory, securing coach Richard Wilhelm’s third consecutive regional title.
The girls won’t practice Friday, and they won’t know who they’ll see in the state quarterfinals until late Thursday evening. That means a long night for Wilhelm, who will be awaiting an email from the state to see how the reseeding shakes out. Then the scouting begins.
“It’s difficult in preparation,” Wilhelm said. “I’ll find them on the NFHS network, then I’ll be throwing out scout film. Even if it’s just a five minute bullet, I just want them to see what they’re going up against.”
While the girls pulled away, the boys watched and waited. Players stretched and stayed loose in the locker room with each listening to their own music as Clark found an open spot on the bleachers. He sat in a near-identical place as his counterpart Jon Stefanides from Joppatowne. The pair of veteran coaches were both perched one row behind their respective benches, assistants surrounding them, then departed to be with their players at almost the exact same time.
Soon, it’d be their teams on the court.
The Mariners opened the nightcap with a difficult full-court press defense that took Patterson Mill time to solve. The Huskies spent much of the first quarter learning how, hunting for occasional lapses in coverage that allowed easy transition baskets.
The home team led 18-14 after the opening quarter as Joppatowne remained close. That advantage grew to 11 at halftime, then a quick run in the third quarter that stretched Patterson Mill’s lead to 17 spelled a Stefanides timeout.
Kishann Smith, perhaps Joppatowne’s best but definitely tallest player, was called for his fourth foul of the night less than a minute into the fourth quarter and played sparingly the rest of the way. With him out of the picture, the Huskies drove away with a 22-point win that brought out the ladder.
“Two championships within three hours. That’s great,” Hammond said. “But both teams know that we’re not content with this regional title. We want to keep going.”
Have a news tip? Contact Taylor Lyons at tlyons@baltsun.com, 410-332-6200 and x.com/TaylorJLyons.
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