Baltimore, MD – A thrilling game that was close throughout and forced an extra period saw the Baltimore City Panthers fall to the Prince George's Owls in overtime.
A low scoring first half saw the Panthers defense do a great job at holding down two of the most prolific scorers in the league. The Owls came into the game averaging 90 points per game, but managed just 33 in the first half as the Panthers took a 35-33 lead at halftime.
The Panthers jumped all over the Owls out of the gates in the second half, building up a seven point lead with Marquis Delahaye working the paint to earn a tough layup on a beautiful Zach Smith assist. Prince George's stormed back to take the lead, but a big steal and fast break layup by Antonio Fliggins put the Panthers back ahead at 50-48 midway through the second half. Baltimore City again built up a seven point lead, but the Owls stormed back to take a six point lead with three minutes left.
With the game on the line, Smith found a wide open Blake Neverdon who nailed a clutch three pointer to halve the deficit. After the Owls extended that lead to four, Ifanieye Lewis stepped up to the top of the arc and hit a big three. After a couple of necessary defensive stops, Lewis was fouled with 18 seconds left which led to him making both free throws to give the Panthers the lead which was followed by Prince George's hitting 1 of 2 free throws to tie the game at 75-75 and sending the game into overtime.
In the extra period, the Owls jumped out to a four point lead before another massive three pointer by Lewis followed by a Delahaye steal and free throw tied the game at 81-81. Smith hit a step back jumper to tie the game again at 83-83 followed by a Kut Deng tip in to tie the game again with 20 seconds left. Prince George's hit a free throw to take an 86-85 lead with 8 seconds left, but a Deng three pointer at the buzzer was just off the mark as the Owls stole a road win.
Delahaye led the Panthers with 21 points and 14 rebounds along with a couple of blocks. Neverdon added a double-double himself with 18 points and 10 rebounds to go with 4 blocks and 3 steals. Smith finished with 13 points, 11 from the free throw line, while also adding 4 steals and 3 assists. Lewis joined the double digit scorers with 11 points and 4 assists flowed by Deng with 8. Sam Johnson with 8, and Fliggins with 4.
The Panthers will hit the road as they travel to Potomac State on Saturday, January 13 for a 3 PM tip off. Baltimore City won the last game between the two teams in a 110-94 victory over the Catamounts in November 2022.
