No 3s, Jeroud Clark told his team. Patterson Mill led Joppatowne by three with just seconds left and their undefeated season in the balance. A Mariner 3-pointer would send Friday night’s game to overtime and breathe new life into the home team.

Kolten Gibson was tasked with defending a Mariner who appeared ready to take that shot. He saw a lane to the top of the arc, darted to intercept the dish then snatched the ball away. He jaunted the other way for an uncontested layup as time expired, but it didn’t matter — most Joppatowne players had left the court already.

Gibson’s final play sealed a 57-52 win for Patterson Mill boys basketball to move the Huskies to 9-0, passing perhaps their toughest test of the season to remain unbeaten with a performance that showed why they’re Harford County’s best.

“Two really, really good teams playing ball,” Clark said. “We’re still unbelievably young — we have two seniors on our roster. So, usually you don’t get that type of veteran presence with such a young team. But they’re resilient.”

A first-year player making the game-saving stop is symbolic of who Patterson Mill is this season. Clark’s team is young and lacks varsity experience.

It hasn’t mattered.

Clark thought he’d spend the early parts of this season bringing his young team along, going through growing pains that would surely produce some losses. But Patterson Mill is unbeaten as February nears, sweeping through nonconference and Upper Chesapeake Bay Athletic Conference foes all the same.

“Even though we don’t have a lot of seniors, we have a lot of leadership,” junior Colin Luddy said. “We have the chemistry. Half our team has been playing together since we were 8, 9 years old. That helps us.”

On Friday, the Huskies overcame a size disadvantage to escape with the five point victory. Joppatowne touted the two tallest players on the court at all times and leaned on its size to keep pace with a fast-paced but smaller Patterson Mill squad.

When Joppatowne threatened late, the Huskies remained composed. A 40-35 Patterson Mill lead entering the fourth quarter was trimmed to just two points. Grayson McLaughlin hit one of his two free throw attempts to keep Joppatowne within a possession with 13 seconds to play. Then Gibson stepped up.

“We were very calm the whole way,” the freshman said. “We don’t get riled up.”

Snow cancellations have wrecked many Harford County teams’ January schedules — Friday’s game was originally slated for the previous week. That forced Joppatowne to play for the third time in four days and less than 24 hours after a loss to Havre de Grace. Area coaches will thus navigate a unique schedule the rest of the way. Joppatowne went 10 days without a game, then played three in five days. Patterson Mill had just one practice over an eight-day span earlier this month.

“It’s wearing on them a little bit,” Joppatowne coach Jon Stefanides said.

The Mariners remain a threat in the UCBAC but have yet to crack through to the top tier. They have just three conference losses — by 20 to C. Milton Wright, by 15 to Edgewood and now by five to Patterson Mill.

Stefanides said after Friday’s game he was confident his team would perform better against the former two when they meet again. Monday, Joppatowne again lost to C. Milton Wright. The Mariners see Edgewood again Feb. 6.

“We were even with them for three quarters,” Stefanides said of his team’s loss to Patterson Mill. “And that’s supposed to be the best team. To me, that tells us that we can be the best team. We just have to believe in ourselves.”

Patterson Mill, with a young roster that’s overcome size and age disparities, has certainly shown it’s atop Harford County. Opposing coaches agree. But the Huskies have loftier goals.

“Our team is very strong this year,” Luddy said. “I feel like this is our best chance to win over all the years I’ve been playing.”

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