COLLEGE PARK — A season of firsts and glorious triumphs ended in heartbreak for the SEED School boys basketball team.

The No. 6-seeded Sabers, fresh of an upset of No. 2 seed and defending back-to-back Class 1A state champion Edmondson-Westside, made their first state championship game appearance in program history against No. 1 seed Cambridge-South Dorchester on Friday at the University of Maryland’s Xfinity Center.

SEED led by three points with less than a minute left in regulation, but missed free throws and avoidable turnovers resulted in a 36-33 loss to the Vikings in overtime.

“We made the analogy of the U.S. hockey team, the ‘Miracle on Ice,’” SEED coach Edward Green Jr. said. “They beat the Russians … but then they still had to beat [Finland] to get the gold medal. So, we beat the bullies in the semi[finals], but we still had to finish the deal against Cambridge.”

Cambridge junior guard Sterling Perkins grabbed an offensive rebound and converted a three-point play with 0.4 seconds left in the extra period, commencing the championship celebration before the final whistle blew.

But Green did not let a last-second shot in overtime diminish the Sabers’ historic season.

“Nobody expected us to get this far,” Green said. “We got the huge win over Edmondson in the semi[finals], which is kind of like Baltimore bragging rights. The goal was just to put our school on the map, to let people know who SEED is moving forward. And [we] got a great group of guys coming back. So, we’re looking at the example that Cambridge set. We’re looking to be right back here next year.”

SEED (20-6) and Green started from scratch four years ago. Green brought in six freshmen in his first class, but five transferred to other schools. This year’s team, chock-full of juniors, was defined by its loyalty and belief in one another.

“I came here to work out a couple days, they made me feel like it was a family,” junior forward Omar Williams said. “[Green] showed faith in me, so I showed faith in him by staying.”

Cambridge (26-2) was on a different path this year. The Vikings sought revenge after their championship game loss to Edmondson last season.

“For myself, and I know Koby Ennals, we circled these dates the next day,” Cambridge coach Shawn Tucker said. “We no longer felt like we were just here. When we walked in today, we were supposed to be here, and that’s a different mindset when you want to be here.”

Ennals, a senior forward, and Perkins were at the forefront, leading the team with 16 and 13 points, respectively. While Perkins made the game-winning shot, Ennals was the reason for overtime, as he hit a moving 3-pointer with less than a minute remaining in the fourth quarter to tie the game.

After Cambridge scored 65 and SEED posted 60 points in their respective semifinals, both barely notched half those totals Friday. The Vikings shot 16.4% from the field with 14 turnovers, while the Sabers shot 22.2% from the field and committed 21 turnovers.

“I don’t think they really did anything special, it was more of us,” Williams said about the offensive struggles. “We knew what they were going to do coming into the game. We knew what they ran. We knew how they played, and, offensively, we just weren’t executing as well as we should have, or we normally do.”

Junior guard Khaled Al-Mateen, who has been a hero throughout SEED’s playoff run, struggled on offense. He didn’t score until the final five minutes of the fourth quarter after totaling 31 points against Edmondson. He finished with two points on 1 of 17 shooting.

Instead of Al-Mateen carrying the load, the Sabers’ offensive production was a complete team effort. No player scored double-digit points, as senior guard Tyler Dubose led the way with nine while Williams and Malachi Parrott each scored seven off the bench.

While SEED’s season ended with a loss, Green believes in the team’s future.

“I think this will open up some eyes for us to start getting some kids that really want to be at SEED, understand they can come to SEED, get good coaching, go to college and make something of themselves in their life,” Green said.

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