UPPER MARLBORO — Meade boys basketball’s winning streak stretched over three months — through the holidays, the entire Anne Arundel County schedule, a county championship, the region playoffs and a state quarterfinal. It had to end someday.

Unfortunately for the Mustangs, that day came sooner than they had hoped.

It came Wednesday, ending on the Wise High School floor in a 64-52 loss to Laurel in a Class 4A state semifinal.

It was an all too familiar feeling for Meade’s seniors. Before getting the chance to play in the state final a year later, they experienced this exact same feeling in the same cavernous arena three years ago.

“I’m extremely proud of them. We won four regions in a row. We had a phenomenal season,” Meade coach Mike Glick said. “Didn’t end the way we wanted it to, but it doesn’t diminish what we’ve done.”

There would be no tragic fall from grace like the 20-point run that sunk Meade in this round in 2022.

There couldn’t possibly be; neither Laurel or Meade could hold an advantage for long through the first three quarters.

Meade battled athletic teams this winter and teams with a big or two.

In all of those victories, and even the three defeats, the Mustangs had never faced a team that could rebound as constantly and capably as the Spartans did.

Meade produced much of its offense from second chances this season — and with Laurel snatching up practically every defensive rebound, the Mustangs’ shots scurried in the other direction if they didn’t land.

Laurel limited Meade’s options even more by packing the interior, forcing the Mustangs to ditch a swing or a hasty shot.

“We didn’t do a great job of boxing out,” Glick said. “I’m very proud overall of the way we played. There’s nothing to be ashamed of. We just lost the battle of the boards.”

Even under pressure, Keon Scott (25 points) thrived.

The sophomore gave the Laurel offense fits in the paint, pickpocketing them three times in the first quarter alone. He scored seven points in the opening quarter to tie the game at 11 just before the buzzer — just the start of his brilliant performance.

In Glick’s opinion, that sort of display is the reason Scott was voted the Coaches’ Player of the Year by the heads of each Anne Arundel County public school team on Monday.

But just as it looked as if Meade had shaken Laurel’s grip and settled into its style, trouble found it. First, it was Laurel’s guards, turning the Mustangs’ usually capable hands into butterfingers.

Then, it was fouls.

Meade had the chance to put some distance between itself and Laurel, if the official’s whistle hadn’t haunted them as much as it did. Senior Lucaya Baldridge, shortly after dunking a go-ahead basket, suffered his third foul two minutes before halftime, taking his necessary presence out of commission. Several more teammates were called for infractions. Laurel, save for the occasional call, did not wade through the same tangles.

The Spartans’ advantage was ice-thin at halftime, 27-24. But Meade’s issues only worsened when junior Arouna Soumaoro was tagged with his fourth foul and benched for preservation, ridding Meade of another essential defensive piece for too long. In that time, Laurel carved out its lead going into the fourth, 42-39. Then, just as Meade lagged by only five points with three minutes left, it was dealt a costly one-two.

The Spartans generated eight points off of two foul calls — a fifth on Baldridge, and a fifth on Soumaoro. Without their bigs free to collect boards and block shots, Meade was left without its pillars in the post.

“It hurts getting in foul trouble,” Glick said. “It really does. I thought we got a little tired toward the end too, missing shots we’d normally make throughout the season.”

Scott gave everything to those final minutes, driving to the basket and knocking down five free throws and a layup. Senior Alijah Johnson, who witnessed Meade’s last semifinal loss at Wise as a fresh varsity call-up, backed Scott up by hitting a 3-pointer and scavenging as many rebounds as he could.

Laurel knew which players to target. Senior Ashton Turman, who made 11 3-pointers in two games last week, hit a triple in each quarter but the fourth. The other Mustangs were similarly limited. In fact, but for Scott and Johnson, not one other player in black and silver was able to put their baskets away — and even there, it wasn’t enough.

And unfortunately for them, Laurel’s shooters did not meet the same obstacle. By the final two minutes, the Spartans stood across a double-digit cavern from Meade.

“We let [Laurel senior Jermaine Taylor] take the game over at the end,” Glick said. “He’s a really good player and he had some key shots that swung the game in the end.”

Have a news tip? Contact Katherine Fominykh at kfominykh@baltsun.com or DM @capgazsports on Instagram.