Morales' Jumper Lifts MBB To Maryland JUCO Championship With 63-62 Win Against Baltimore City

WYE MILLS, Md. - Alex Morales (Patterson, N.J.) hit a jumper with six seconds left to cap a 7-1 run in the final four minutes and 31 seconds to propel Prince George's Community College past Baltimore City Community College 63-62 in the Maryland Junior College Athletic Conference Championship Game on Sunday.

After Chad Andrews-Fulton scored in the lane with 4:31 left, Kenneth Pettaway (Bowie, Md.) answered with a jumper. Andrews-Fulton made 1 of 2 at the free throw line at 3:56 to restore a five-point edge at 62-57. The Owls (20-8) then scored the final six points of the contest to come away with the title. Morales started the decisive run with a layup at 1:54 and James Hagins (Roanoke, Va.) scored in the paint with 45 seconds on the clock to make it a one-point game. Morales then hit a jumper with six ticks left and Panthers (18-11) missed a shot in the waning seconds before time expired on their championship hopes.

After Andrews-Fulton handed Baltimore City a six-point lead for the final time with 4:31 remaining, the Panthers missed its final four shots from the field and went 1 of 5 from the charity stripe while posting two turnovers.

Morales finished with 20 points and 17 rebounds for his fourth-straight double-double. It marked the fourth time in his last 10 games Morales registered 20 points and was the sixth time this season the freshman has hauled in at least 15 rebounds. Morales went 8-for-14 from the floor and 4 of 8 from the charity stripe for his 20 points.

Mykal Johnson (Landover, Md.) added 20 points off the bench for Prince George's to reach 20 points for the 12th time this season while Jaylin Johnson (Detroit, Mich.) tallied eight points, six assists and five rebounds in the winning effort.

Haneef Vaughn-Wilson paced Baltimore City with 13 points while Deion Evans added 12 points and Andrews-Fulton recorded 10 points and 13 rebounds in the losing effort.

The game was a closely contested game between the two programs before the Owls rallied at the end to come away with the thrilling championship victory.

The Panthers started the game with seven-straight points in the first two minutes and 40 seconds. Powered by six points from Jaylin Johnson, Prince George's responded with an 11-2 spurt to take an 11-9 advantage with 13:57 left in the first half.

Neither team could take more than a two possession lead the rest of the half and went into the locker tied at 33 after Baltimore City's Mekhi Bryant drained two free throws at the end of the stanza.

Kennith Ford (Forrestville, Md.) got Prince George's off to a hot start in the final frame with a pair of 3-pointers at 19:39 and 19:08 for a 39-33 margin. Vaughn-Wilson scored eight points to help the Panthers answer with a 10-2 run to take a 43-41 edge with 15:58 on the clock.

After Mykal Johnson drained a trey at 10:48 to give the Owls a 51-49 margin, Baltimore City took the lead on a Ronald Hammond trey with 10:21 left to give Baltimore City the advantage for the next 10 minutes and seven seconds. The Panthers extended its lead to six points twice in that span on a Bryant trey at 6:38 and again after Fulton-Andrews layup with 4:31 left.

Prince George's then scored seven of the last eight points to come away with the victory. Ford also finished the night with eight points.

With the victory, the Owls earned its 20th win to notch their first 20-win season since 2013-14.