Photo courtesy of The Baltimore Sun (Kenneth K. Lam)

Box Score | Video Highlights (thanks to Matt Warner)

Patterson won its first state championship in any sport on Saturday, grabbing the 3A title with an 86-75 win over Thomas Stone at University of Maryland’s Comcast Center.

The Clippers became the only No. 15 seed to ever win a boy’s basketball state championship. It had to play all four regional games on the road before advancing to the state tournament. Despite that, Patterson won its six playoff games by an average margin of 19.7 points.

It didn’t come easy on Saturday. Patterson built an early 11 point lead, but Thomas Stone (25-2) outscored the Clippers (21-7) 29-12 in the second quarter to go into halftime leading 43-34.

But Patterson responded out of the locker room and quickly erased the deficit. Devin Hebron scored all 23 of his points in the second half–17 of which came in the third quarter–to help Patterson to a one-point lead heading into fourth quarter.

Thomas Stone briefly regained the lead, but the Clippers got key contributions from a number of players to put away the Cougars.

Aquille Carr finished with a game-high 28 points. He also added eight assists, six steals and three rebounds. Leonard Livingston had eight points, four rebounds and 11 blocks. In two games at Comcast, Livingston had 19 blocks — the three other state champions, in six games at Comcast, had a combined 14 blocks.

Shakir Brown had 18 points and 10 rebounds while Myrek Lee-Fowlkes had six points, eight rebounds and three steals. Hebron also added seven rebounds. Nyme Manns, who finished with two points and three rebounds, won his second state championship — he was on last year’s 2A champion Digital Harbor team.

Patterson scored 34 points off of Thomas Stone’s 24 turnovers. In two games at the state playoffs the Clippers forced 53 turnovers.

For Thomas Stone, four players scored in double figures. Emeka Mbakwe had 18 points; Michael Briscoe had 15; Brelin Elliott had 14; and Brandon Stewart had 10.

Box Score | Video Highlights (courtesy of CapitolHoops.com)

Patterson used an aggressive full-court press to force 29 turnovers and pulled away after halftime in its 70-46 victory over Tuscarora in a 3A state semifinal game at the Comcast Center.

The Clippers (20-7) advance to face Thomas Stone in the 3A championship game at 3 p.m. on Saturday. Thomas Stone defeated Centennial, 69-61, in the other semifinal.

Three Patterson players scored in double figures, led by Aquille Carr’s 24 points, and eight players total got on the scoresheet for the Clippers. Carr added four steals and three rebounds.

Nyme Manns had 11 points and 11 rebounds while Devin Hebron had 11 points, five rebounds, three assists and three steals. Shakir Brown added six points and 10 rebounds for Patterson, which led by double digits from early in the second quarter on.

The Clippers’ defense was paced by Leonard Livingston, who commanded the paint with eight blocks and seven rebounds. Tuscarora shot 34 percent from the field in its largest margin of defeat this season.

Patterson also got solid contributions from Myrek Lee-Fowlkes, who had eight points and seven rebounds, and Dereck Oliver, who hit two 3-pointers and added two rebounds and two assists.

Tickets for Saturday’s game are $8 and available at the door or online.

Box Score | Video Highlights (courtesy of CapitolHoops.com)

Patterson scored 12 straight points in the third and fourth quarters to erase a nine-point deficit and held on to beat Milford Mill, 75-72, to claim the 3A North title and earn a trip to the Comcast Center for the state tournament.

Aquille Carr led all scorers with 31 points and his dunk with the game tied at 53 highlighted the Clippers’ second-half rally. Carr stole the ball at half court, converted the one-handed dunk, drew a foul and completed the three-point play.

But a host of other Patterson players also contributed to the comeback. Myrek Lee-Fowlkes (16 points, five rebounds) hit two 3-pointers during the stretch. Shakir Brown, who finished with five steals in addition to his 10 points and eight rebounds, helped the Clippers (19-7) slow down Milford Mill on the defensive end. Devin Hebron (eight points) had a crucial offensive rebound off a missed free throw to give Patterson another possession.

And down the stretch, freshman Dereck Oliver (six points) and sophomore Kwynten Brooks hit key free throws that allowed Patterson to hold on to its slim lead despite its three frontcourt players fouling out.

In addition to scoring a little less than half of Patterson’s points, Carr added nine assists, three rebounds and two steals. Leonard Livingston helped control the paint with five rebounds, three blocks and two steals, while Eric Woods played in important defensive situations at the end of both halves.

Patterson, which is making its second straight trip to the state playoffs, will face 3A West winner Tuscarora at 5 p.m. on Thursday at Comcast Center. The winner advances to Saturday’s 3A championship game.

Box Score

Patterson took the lead midway through the first quarter and didn’t trail the rest of the way in its 67-59 win over City in the 3A North region semifinals.

The Clippers (18-7) advance to play at Milford Mill at 1 p.m. on Saturday for the 3A North title and a trip to the Comcast Center for the state playoffs.

Aquille Carr led all scorers on Thursday with 23 points. He added eight rebounds and three assists coming off the bench. Myrek Lee-Fowlkes hit three 3-pointers and finished with 15 points and five rebounds.

Patterson also got strong efforts from its power forwards against a tough City frontcourt. Leonard Livingston had 11 points, eight rebounds and three blocks while Nyme Manns had seven points and 10 rebounds and Shakir Brown had six points and four rebounds. The Clippers finished with a plus-10 rebounding advantage over City.

The Black Knights were led by Charles Tapper, who had 22 points and 11 rebounds, and Dwayne Morgan, who had eight points and 11 rebounds.

Freshman Dereck Oliver and sophomore Kwynten Brooks got the start in the backcourt for Patterson, each helping the Clippers control the tempo and limit City’s outside scoring. The Black Knights finished 0 of 9 from 3-point range.

Ticket information for Saturday’s game at Milford Mill will be available on Friday and posted on this site.