This was the third time these teams played each other, but this game was unlike any of the others due to the higher nature of the stakes. The game started off at a slower pace than usual. Both exchanged leads throughout the quarter. The entire River Hill squad had difficulty shooting throughout the game, only making 9 out of 46 (20%) of their shots. CHS did not do much better, going 10 for 43 (23%), but their rebounding and hustle gave the Eagles the much needed second chances that the Hawks could not get a hold of.  At the end of the first quarter, the Eagles had the lead 9-4.

The second quarter was the same as the first, a low scoring defensive battle. CHS communicated played solid defense and passed the ball well while the Hawks did not. River Hill’s point guards were held under check, and thus the Eagles held on to a 16-10 lead.

The Hawks came out of the locker room fired up, but soon became visibly frustrated after failing to capture the lead and control the boards. A main reason for River Hill’s frustration was that Sean Anderson and Greg Edmonds of the Eagles each had 12 rebounds. At the end of the third, the Eagles kept the lead, 21-16.

At the end of the fourth quarter with 1:30 left in the game, the Hawks came close to tying or winning it, but Edmonds had a clutch rebound and free throw to put the Eagles up three and to seal the game. The final score was 26-23, an extremely low scoring game. “I knew it was going to be tough, but I knew that we could do it. The kids had to believe in each other that we could do it and they did,” head coach Chad Hollwedel exclaimed. Assistant head coach Defabio put it simply, saying, “It doesn’t matter how many points we scored, as long as we score more than the other team.”

The Eagle’s playoff run continued two days later, with a trip to Atholton. CHS had already lost to the Raiders twice during the regular season.

Both teams traded leads throughout the quarter. Atholton jumped out with a quick seven point lead to start the game, but CHS answered with seven of their own. After that, CHS held their own for the rest of the quarter, playing more aggressive defense. The first period ended in Centennial’s favor, 15-9.

The CHS players, especially junior forward Matt Harbinson, continued to out-hustle the Atholton players at all times. On the game, Harbinson had thirteen points, two assists, and three boards. In the final minutes of the first half, Atholton caught fire and went into the locker room with the lead, 26-23.

The second half started out with the Raiders taking the momentum.  Nevertheless, the Eagles managed to hold them to a slight lead, 34-31.

In the forth quarter both teams traded leads, going on various runs, only to have their opponent respond with a run of their own. However, the Raiders had a strong hold on the lead. With 1:48 left in the game, the Eagles had a chance to come back after being down by 3. However, the shots just could not fall for the Eagles, and their fate was sealed with seventeen seconds left when Atholton made two free throws. The final score was 46-41. When the buzzer sounded, the entire CHS team looked around at each other, dazed and confused, unsure what had just happened.

“We just didn’t finish around the hoop, and that’s the difference in a five point game. Everything else is what we wanted. We played well, played hard, and did everything we were supposed to do. We just fell a few points short on the offensive end” assistant head coach Defabio stated.

Senior Greg Edmonds stated that “this season was beyond what I could put on it. No one really thought we were going to go this far and to knock River Hill out, and Wilde Lake out, has been a lot of fun.”

It’s been a pleasure” senior Sean Anderson said.

Posted on 2010-03-08