Wilde Lake boys basketball clinches first Howard County championship in 45 years, defeating Glenelg, 65-55

Feb. 17—Wilde Lake boys basketball has had the same mantra all season: take it one day and one game at a time.

The Wildecats split their first four county games, including a one-point loss to River Hill in the opener. However, they didn't allow that early-season adversity to derail their mindset. Integrating newer pieces with last year's returners, Wilde Lake began to hit its stride, closing with 12 consecutive victories.

The second win of that streak was an overtime victory over Long Reach that served as a springboard. The Wildecats culminated the regular season with a 65-55 win over Glenelg on Thursday, clinching the program's second-ever county title and first since 1978.

"I'm a graduate from here; I played basketball here, [assistant] coach Deon Wingfield played basketball here," Wilde Lake coach Jay McMillan said. "What we accomplished today is for everyone who coached basketball here and who played basketball here, because 45 years is a long time. This is a school championship; this is for every coach or player that's ever played JV or varsity; this is for all of them. So, I can't be prouder of all of the guys, all of us coaches to get to this point and be able to accomplish this."

On senior night, the Wildecats (19-3, 15-2 Howard County) came out energized. Employing their patented full-court press, they forced the Gladiators into several early turnovers that became easy baskets and a 9-2 lead. Using its size and athleticism, Wilde Lake dominated the glass, holding its seven-point lead after the opening quarter.

"It's impossible to duplicate their pressure in practice," Glenelg coach Alex Blazek said. "You try to do the best you can and run six guys against your five, but it's just impossible to duplicate that in practice. We repped it a bunch and we knew coming in was going to happen. Digging out of the hole hurts, it seemed like we never could cut it two possessions."

The Gladiators (8-12, 7-11) solved the press early in the second quarter as Matt Dalton made consecutive buckets to bring them within three. However, Wilde Lake immediately responded with a three-point play from Nathan Hiteshew and a perimeter jumper from Miles Faulkner. Glenelg continued to battle, but the lead remained seven at the break as Xavier Gilliam and D'Andre Hoskins punished the Gladiators with second-chance opportunities.

Will Piwowarski brought the Gladiators within six midway through the third, connecting on a 3-pointer. However, Wilde Lake responded behind Gilliam and Hiteshew. First, Hiteshew knocked down a triple, promptly followed by a three-point play from Gilliam, extending Wilde Lake's lead back to double-digits. Hiteshew scored nine of his 18 points in the quarter.

"The first half my contact fell out, so once I got all that figured out, just trying to come out and not let anything slip away or have any regrets," Hiteshew said.

Glenelg's Ty Jenkins knocked down a 3-pointer just before the third-quarter buzzer, bringing the Gladiators to within nine. Jenkins brought Glenelg back within seven on a trio of free throws with 3:44 remaining. However, that was the closest they'd come. Down the stretch, Gilliam and Hoskins once again imposed their will on the glass, creating second-chance opportunities as Hoskins finished with 10 points and Gilliam added a team-high 19.

The celebration ensued shortly after. The Wildecats faithful dressed in black exclaimed in excitement as the team held up its county championship banner. But there are loftier goals ahead.

"I want to see how we perform in the playoffs," Gilliam said. "I have a lot of trust in my guys and I'm excited to see how far we can make it. I was a part of three sports last year and we all lost in the first round, so I feel like this is our first chance of making a legitimate postseason run. I'm excited because I've never played in the playoffs past the first round."

"They really want to get better every day," McMillian said. "The mindset we're trying to have is, 'Let's continue to stack these days, let's not think about what we have going on.' It's a true testament, they walk around just trying to win one game that day. Two wins per week, or whatever's on the schedule We stress it, but they live it, so we couldn't be more proud of them as coaches."