By Ryan Flood

To quote the late, great Shirley Povich - "The million-to-one shot came in. Hell froze over. A month of Sundays hit the calendar," - Bishop McNamara defeated DeMatha in a basketball championship game. The purple and yellow Mustangs beat the blue and red WCAC defending champion Stags in ‘The Rock' summer league title game last night, 56-55.  

What was expected to be a lopsided matchup in favor of DeMatha turned out to be a nail-biting affair between two WCAC rivals. Having already out-run one of the league's top teams, Gonzaga, the night before, Bishop McNamara came out with mounds of heart and momentum. The team dominated the first half and - for the first 32 minutes - looked like it would cruise to victory.

The Mustangs led by ten late in the first half and a buzz began going around the gym; many were baffled not only by how well McNamara was playing, but by how troubled DeMatha appeared. The team was turning the ball over and playing lackadaisical defense, allowing McNamara to have its way.

It felt like maybe a halftime speech would inspire the Stags but instead, it was the Mustangs that came out with increased energy after the break. Tyler Shipe and Marcus Thornton (22 points) led the team to its biggest lead - 49-32 - with less than seven minutes to play.

Then, it seemed like DeMatha finally remembered who it was.

Marcellous Bell got the comeback going, draining a big three to bring the Stags within 11 points but it wasn't until there was just under two minutes left on the clock that DeMatha began to really threaten. Led by James Robinson (15 points) and Jairius Lyles (16), DeMatha fought its way back into it.

Suddenly, the lead was just one - 56-55 - with less than 30 seconds to play, and McNamara committed an offensive foul to give DeMatha possession.  Mikael Hopkins came to the line with a chance to tie the game or give DeMatha an unforeseen lead but the star big-man missed the front end of the one-and-one. On the other end, however, Justin Dade couldn't convert either of his free throws and DeMatha had one more chance to steal the game.

With only 5.2 seconds on the clock, DeMatha advanced the ball up the floor and called a timeout. Marcellous Bell (8 points) then inbounded the ball to Jerami Grant (10 points) who elevated for a jumper. Just before Grant released the ball, DeMatha called a timeout from the sideline. He sunk the three-ball but the shot did not count.

Now with only one second on the clock, DeMatha ran the exact same play: Bell inbounded the ball to Grant who launched the shot, but this time it would rattle in and out. After dominating the entire game, McNamara held on for a dramatic victory, beating DeMatha in upset fashion after a month of hard work at ‘The Rock.'

Marcus Thornton, who scored a game high 22 points and made clutch shot after clutch shot, is PGSportsFan's first annual ‘The Rock' Finals MVP.

With summer league basketball now in the rear-view mirror, join us for exclusive coverage of PG County Football, starting this week. We'll be visiting all of the top training camps in early August to give you a peak at what's to come this season.

Thanks for your support and e-mail me at boris.tsalyuk@gmail.com with any questions or concerns.