[Baltimore Sun] South River boys basketball claims first county title in first appearance with 65-40 rout of Severna Park
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South River boys basketball wanted so badly to celebrate its first county title, any buzzer — even a shot-clock buzzer two seconds before the end of the championship game — was enough to loose the Seahawks onto the floor, red-faced with screams and tears, to dogpile. When called back, they waited for time to expire, and did it again.
Longtime South River coach Darren Hall, himself a player decades ago, couldn’t stop the tears streaming down his cheeks when he watched them, when he held the plaque in his hands that represented years of sacrifice and heartache.
His team hadn’t just wanted to win some game. It wasn’t even really about paying back Severna Park for handing South River its first county loss a week ago — though that did have something to do with the resounding nature of the 65-40 final score at Arundel High on Saturday.
When the Seahawks (18-5) crammed together to celebrate their first county title in school history — in their first county championship game appearance — they thought of nothing but each other, what they’d always wanted, and what was still theirs to come.
“We’re gonna tell our guys, ‘Don’t take off your climbing boots because we got bigger mountains to climb.’ But this is a mountain we haven’t been on,” Hall said. “We’re at the top of this one, and we’re gonna enjoy the view for a minute.”
It’s unlikely that when the Falcons welcome the Seahawks for the Class 3A East Region I semifinals next Thursday that the outcome will resemble Saturday’s. This time, seniors Liam Barney and James Crimaudo netted those plays that sustained the Seahawks momentum through most of the game. Last time, in a 66-63 finish Feb. 12, Brendan Abell and Upton Young scored double digits for the Falcons, a figure the typically prolific pair would have to pool together Saturday to claim.
Hall credits his team’s increasingly confident yet calm mindset through this past week’s practices, especially when it came down to a bit of a Falcons push at the end.
“We knew it was going to take every play of deny and up on the ball — a collective effort from the whole team, the bench, the stands, from everybody,” Crimaudo said. “But it was there. All 32 minutes.”
Crimaudo ripped the hem of his basketball shorts during the last Severna Park game. Another person might swap them out, but Crimaudo kept them as a badge, a reminder — and a little bit of “good juju.”
Then this morning, the senior — who had a team-high 19 points — received a text from his grandmother this morning: “Shock and awe.”
It’s fair to say that’s what he and his Seahawks did.
South River poses for photos after beating Severna Park in the Anne Arundel County championship game at Arundel High School. (John Gillis/Freelance)
“We spoke a lot last year and especially this year about this, our ‘leave no doubt’ tour,” Crimaudo said. “It was our plan to leave no doubt in the county that last year and this year’s class is going to change the culture of South River forever. I think this was the exclamation point on that sentence.”
A lopsided 7-0 South River melted to a tie as Severna Park spread to to its zone defense like an incoming tide, washing up the Seahawks’ shots, boards, and loose balls and drawing them in.
But when Severna Park called its first timeout then, it seemed a gift to the other side.
Crimaudo shook off the Falcons’ rally with two free throws followed by a fancy over-the-shoulder basket fed by his own steal. This wouldn’t be the last time the 6-foot-4 swingman spurred the Seahawks back to life when needed.
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“All week long, I saw this look in James Crimaudo’s eye,” Hall said. “He’s a special kid. He was a monster all week, and he continued that here, not just with his play but with his leadership.”
Jonah Hall siphoned some of his fire for his own 3-pointer — and angered Tucker Moran. The Falcon drained eight points, cutting the first frame lead to 14-12 with seconds dribbling down.
Sophomore Jaden McDuffie stood placidly. He tilted his hands — and the Seahawks leapt to a 17-12 finish.
Momentum was in hand, but not for Crimaudo.
Foul trouble sent the senior to the sideline — technically. Crimaudo hardly sat, transforming in the moment to a bench coach.
Hall understood that spirit in him: a product of an injury holding him back for half of last season, with his childhood best friends for teammates, only to have that campaign crash and burn after he returned.
Barney understood that sentiment, too. He became an undeniable force; the senior iced his three layups, jumpers with a 3-pointer, both extending a double-digit lead to 31-17 by halftime.
“Foul trouble is something we’ve been trying to diagnose all season, but it was huge of Liam Barney to go in and take control of the game like he did,” Crimaudo said.
The Falcons could only cough up were a few free throws, littered in a graveyard of missed ones, and a single layup late. Severna Park’s stars — Liam Cleary, Abell and Young — were faces on milk cartons offensively. The system that had worked well enough for the Falcons to beat South River two weeks ago, to secure the home team designation in this game and in-season county title, splintered into pieces as the three leaders broke off, tried to stir up their own heroics, and failed.
“Our first meeting, we allowed them to dictate the pace — if you let them, it makes a pretty tough night,” Hall said. “But that’s what we worked on all week: to take them out of their comfort zone.”
When Severna Park should have come out swinging a hammer, the Falcons came with a chisel. A handful of free throws picked from early whistles did little to carve South River’s lead — or momentum — away. From perimeter and post, the Seahawks deepened the rout, with a steal-layup combo by Crimaudo driving the Falcons to another timeout, glancing morosely at their 44-21 ditch. Jonah Hall could’ve laughed if he wanted to; his corresponding 3-pointer basically did.
Only one thing could sour South River’s mood: the whistle.
With two minutes left in the third, Crimaudo shuffled to the bench with four fouls pinned on his back. Shortly after, Hall suffered his third and joined him.
Up 50-27 after three, more Seahawks bitterly joined the three- or four-foul club and the Falcons cashed in to score a quarter-high 13 points.
But for the Seahawks, it wasn’t that their spirit flickered out that mattered. It was that they were able to switch it back to life in the final minutes. Crimaudo and Schrader both hit buckets late.
“I think it’s just about staying calm in those moments,” Barney said. “That’s all it is.”
South River — 17-14-19-15 — 65
Severna Park — 12-5-10-13 — 40
SR: Crimaudo 19, Barney 17, Hall 9, Schrader 8, Finn 6, Davis 3, McDuffie 3
SP: Hartman 10, Moran 9, Cleary 6, Abell 6, Young 5, Gorski 4
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