DECATUR: REGIONAL CHAMPIONS

Stephen Decatur’s Montre Andrews (32) puts up a shot during the 3A East Regional semifinals on March 4, in Berlin against Mt. Hebron. Decatur earned a 48-42 overtime victory to advance to the regional championship on its home court March 6, when the Seahawks won 64-55 over the Atholton Raiders in overtime. OCEAN CITY TODAY/LISA CAPITELLI (March 12, 2010) The Stephen Decatur boys’ basketball team accomplished something on March 6 that it hasn’t done in 18 years: win a regional title.

“The last time they won was in 1992, when I was born, so to go ahead my senior year and lead them to it feels really good,” said Cedrick Johnson, who transfered to the school this year from St. John’s Catholic Prep in Frederick. “I knew we had the team to do it because we play together all summer so we know each other.”

“It’s just phenomenal,” added senior Tom Lubeski, who was also born in 1992. “It’s something this team never really thought about until this year because we had the group that could do it.”

Decatur’s Tre Foreman snips his share of the basketball net after the 3A East Regional championship game, during which the Seahawks defeated the Atholton Raiders, 64-55, in overtime last Saturday in Berlin. The last time Decatur won a regional championship was in 1992. The school has captured eight regional titles (1969, 70, 71, 74, 81, 84, 92 and 2010) and two state championships (1969 and 71) since the program’s inception. OCEAN CITY TODAY/LISA CAPITELLI Junior Tre Foreman, who has been a starter for the team since he was a freshman, was so excited after Decatur defeated the No. 6 Atholton Raider, 64-55 in overtime to win the crown, that he was speechless. Foreman came up with some big dunks at pivotal points in the game that got his teammates and the crowd pumped up.

“I was just crashing the boards hard and it was coming to me,” he said. “It was just adrenaline.”

Top seeded Decatur advanced to the 3A East Regional championship after a 48-42 overtime victory over No. 4 Mt. Hebron March 4 in Berlin.

The Seahawks hosted the March 6 regional title game against the Atholton Raiders and trailed for a majority of the contest, but never by more than eight points.

Decatur fought back to even the score at 13 at the end of the first quarter but Atholton pulled ahead to lead 27-21 at the halftime break.

“I thought we handled our emotions and our nerves pretty well in the first half, but our brainpower was just not there. We were making a lot of mental mistakes,” Decatur Coach Travis Lloyd said. “At halftime I told the kids, ‘You’ve got 16 minutes left on your home floor. You’re 16 minutes away from going to the Comcast Center, what do you want to do?’ They just looked at me and I saw the look in all their eyes. I said to Coach [Mark] Engle and Coach [Bernard] Bowen, ‘They’re focused now.’”

The Raiders had a five-point advantage (35-30), when Mark Engle sunk a free throw and Johnson netted a three-pointer with five seconds on the clock to put the Seahawks just one point behind (34-35) at the end of the third quarter.

Engle stole the ball at center court at the start of the final quarter and scored to give Decatur a 36-35 lead. Atholton went 2-for-2 from the foul line before a Foreman dunk brought Seahawk fans to their feet.

The Raiders were ahead 46- 43 at the two-minute mark but Johnson cut the lead to one, then Montre Andrews scored to put Decatur on top, 47-46 with 50.9 seconds left in the contest.

Atholton hit two free throws to take a 48-47 lead but Johnson tied the score, netting one foul shot. The visitors jumped ahead 49-48 with another free throw, but with 27.5 seconds on the clock, Johnson was fouled and scored one shot to even the match, 49-49.

Decatur had a chance to win at the buzzer but Johnson’s shot bounced off the rim and the game headed into overtime.

Andrews gave the Seahawks a 51-49 lead in the extra period, but the Raiders quickly answered.

Engle’s three-pointer and free throws by Lubeski and Dyonne Powell provided Decatur with its largest lead of the game and it could not have come at a better time. The 7-0 run gave the Seahawks a 58-51 advantage with 1:42 left and the squad continued to dominate until the final whistle. The Berlin squad outscored its opponent 15-6 in overtime to win 64-55.

Johnson was Decatur’s top scorer with 25 points.

“They just kept believing, they just kept fighting and I think the better team won. It’s a dream come true and I’m just so happy for the kids,” Lloyd said. “We talked about four goals this season: one, win the first game; two, get to eight wins as quick as possible; three, win a Bayside Championship. We didn’t get there but our bigger goal is ahead of us. I’ll trade a Bayside Championship any day for a state title, and we’re two games away.”

Decatur (22-4) was scheduled to meet Milford Mill Academy (23-3), the 3A North champ, in the state semifinals yesterday (Thursday) at the Comcast Center on the University of Maryland—College Park campus. The winner will face either 3A West Regional champion, Blake High School (19-3) or Thomas Stone (22-1), the South titleholder, in the state championship on Saturday at the Comcast Center.

Decatur has only won two state championships since the program’s inception, in 1969 and 1971. The Seahawks were runner-up in 1970.