Daevone Johnson and Avion Robinson have shown all year just how important they are to the Old Mill boys basketball team.

With the county championship on the line on Saturday, the pair showed it once again.

After Broadneck had pulled to within two midway through the quarter, Johnson and Robinson combined to score Old Mill’s next nine points and the Patriots hit their free throws down the stretch and won their third straight county championship, 66-59.

Old Mill (18-5) led by as many as 11 points in the third quarter before the Bruins rallied in the fourth.

“The first time we played them, neither one of these guys played in the second quarter,” Old Mill coach Mike Francis said. “Our guys on the bench were not prepared for that and they weren’t prepared to play a team like Broadneck.”

Johnson led all scorers with 24 points, including seven in the fourth quarter. He had consecutive steals that led to points during the fourth-quarter run and added a 3-pointer at the 2:15 mark that pushed the lead back to eight after the Bruins’ Che Colbert had cut the lead to five.

“It feels good. We have to get back to what we do because it’s playoff time now,” Johnson said. “It’s lose or go home, so we need to get back in the gym and figure out what we need to do.”

Robinson finished with 17 points for the Patriots. He hit a pair of 3-pointers and scored eight points in the first quarter, but didn’t hit his next field goal until late in the third quarter. After the Bruins got back in the game in the fourth, he stopped their 5-0 run with a follow, then scored 30 seconds later off a steal from Johnson.

“I was just focused on closing the game and doing what I had to do to help our team score,” he said. “Everything worked out.”

Zach Boston scored nine points, including seven in the fourth quarter. He went 5 for 6 from the foul line in the game’s final minute. Tra Thomas added seven points, Kanari Smith had six points, Jamari Middleton added a pair and Kyjuan Johnson hit a late free throw for the Patriots.

Old Mill is the first team to win three straight county championships since Annapolis won five straight from 1999-2003.

“I feel blessed,” Francis said. “I’m just blessed to have guys that want to win and want to play so hard.”

Logan Vican scored 18 points to lead Broadneck, which won the regular-season county championship.

“It was a tough fought game between the two teams. We gave it our all,” Vican said. “There were some possessions early in the game that we didn’t finish. We came back in the second half and played our hearts out.”

Colbert led the Bruins’ late charge with 10 points in the fourth quarter and finished with 17. He hit three free throws at 4:26 mark that cut Old Mill’s lead to 51-49, but the Bruins went nearly two minutes before scoring again on Colbert’s 3-pointer with 2:45 left.

“Being a leader, I just knew I had to step it up,” he said. “It got us back in the game.”

Jamar Young added 13 points for Broadneck (17-5). Brendan Davis and Andrew Rose each scored three, Nick Gatton and Mike Cantrell each had two and Josh Ehrlich added a free throw for the Bruins.

“What a great environment. I was really thrilled to be out there tonight representing Broadneck,” Bruins’ coach John Williams said. “I think a game like this is certainly going to make us better as we go forward.”

Much of the talk in both postgame press conferences centered on the fact that the teams could potentially meet again in the Class 4A East Region final. Each are the top seeds in their respective sections and will have a first-round bye before opening the playoffs on March 4.

“We just need to get back at it,” Francis said. “Whoever we play next—Arundel or Severna Park—we have to be able to execute like we did in the fourth quarter.”

bhough@capgaznews.com

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