Not much was coming easy for the Perry Hall boys basketball team in Wednesday's Baltimore County showdown against visiting Woodlawn, a credit to the No. 12 Warriors, who simply weren't budging.

The No. 4 Gators needed a late 3-pointer from senior Fredo Carter, excellent defense from juniors Laquill Hardnett and Anthony Higgs, and some good fortune in the final seconds to secure a 58-56 win.

Woodlawn had two shots in close that were off the mark in the final three seconds, helping Perry Hall improve to 14-1 overall and 6-0 in Baltimore County's Division II. Woodlawn (11-3) fell to 5-1 in the division.

“We knew they were good, we knew it was going to be a battle and were very fortunate to win — very, very fortunate to win,” Perry Hall coach George Panageotou said. “Guys made some big plays at the end, Fredo Carter with the big 3, and then the double blocked shot by Anthony and Laquill.”

Hardnett led the Gators with 20 points, while Higgs added 13. The Warriors got 15 each from Juwan Lane and Demauri Warren.

After the Warriors recovered from an early 10-2 deficit, the game was tight the rest of the way. In the fourth quarter, the Gators had to rally. They trailed 53-49 — Woodlawn's biggest lead — when Carter (five points) made his only 3-pointer to make it a one-point game with 2:26 to play.

After Woodlawn countered with a basket, Hardnett scored in the lane. After a Woodlawn turnover, Perry Hall took the lead with 59 seconds left, as Tyler Holley made two free throws.

On the Warriors' next possession, Lane went up strong along the baseline to try to finish a drive, but Hardnett and Higgs converged to block the shot. Aaron Butler made two free throws to push the lead to 58-55 with 27 seconds left before Lane got one free throw back to make it 58-56 with 12 seconds to play.

After Warren missed a chance to tie with 2.8 seconds left, the Gators appeared to have the game sealed, but threw the inbound pass the length of the court. It went out of bounds untouched to give the ball back to the Warriors with the same time remaining. Lane went up strong but couldn't make the tying basket as time expired.

Contributions were needed from a number of players and Carter made a big one with the pivotal 3-pointer. He had several clean looks throughout the game, but couldn't find his aim until late.

“As a shooter, it doesn't always fall. But the shooter's mentality I want to make the next one and that's what I did,” he said.

Panageotou said lessons can be learned.

“The first thing that comes to my mind is the things we can teach from this because when we get deeper into the season and into the playoffs when it's win or lose and you're done, games like this are monumental — great teaching tools all over the board. So, yeah, it will help us in the long run, big time.”

Despite the setback, Woodlawn coach Bobby Richardson was proud of his team's performance.

It “came down to the two best teams [in Baltimore County] and two points,” Richardson said. “Free throws made the difference, and just clutch plays down the end. …We executed well, but it just wasn't perfect and nothing is.”