CUMBERLAND — In each of the four quarters, No. 5 Fort Hill went on key runs in the final minutes.
Those runs ended up being the difference as the Sentinels (2-5, 1-0 City League) closed out Allegany to win 71-59 on Friday.
“I thought the bench deserved a lot of credit today. For the first time this season, I thought they really stepped up,” Fort Hill head coach Thad Burner said. “They took full advantage of their opportunities. Noah House was super off the bench. Ean Abe was super off the bench.”
The story of the game was how Fort Hill was the better team in the final 90 seconds of each quarter.
In the first quarter, the Sentinels led 12-8 after Gamil Daniels split a pair of free throws with 1:57 left in the frame.
The Sentinels outscored the Campers (2-6, 1-1 City League) 7-5 to end the quarter, capping it off at the buzzer with a 3-pointer from Daniels on the left wing.
“It wasn’t a lack of effort, our kids played as hard as we could ask them to,” Allegany head coach Brandon Reed said. “It was a tough, hard-fought game. Credit to Fort Hill, they came out and played aggressive. They played physical and I didn’t think our kids backed away from that.”
Daniels led the Sentinels with 19 points, also recording a pair of assists.
The Sentinels took a 19-13 lead after one, then the teams went back-and-forth in the second.
There were five ties and four lead changes as it remained a one-score game for the first six minutes.
“It’s been that way all season, no matter how much we focus on coming out with a hot start, we just can’t seem to get it going,” Reed said. “We have to spend so much time fighting back, it becomes hard to get over that hump to actually pull ahead.”
Landyn Ansel hit three triples in the quarter for the Campers while House scored all eight of his points for Fort Hill in the second.
Ansel finished with 12 points and eight rebounds.
Daniels went coast-to-coast for a layup to put Fort Hill ahead 35-33 with 2:11 before the half.
The Sentinels ended the half on an 8-1 run, capped by a triple from Daniels on the right wing that put Fort Hill up 43-34 going into the break.
“It was huge in the second quarter, they made a little bit of a run,” Burner said. “We kind of challenged the kids in the final two minutes, we only gave up one point.”
The Sentinels shot 16 of 29 (55%) from the field compared to the Campers’ 12 of 28 (43%).
Fort Hill maintained a three-possession point cushion to open the third led by Landyn Green’s seven points. He finished with 15 points and a block.
“Really excited for Landyn. I think what he did today is the expectation all the time,” Burner said. “He’s improving all the time. I think he’s got a group of teammates that are gonna rally around him.”
Daniels went the length of the floor with 2:39 to play in the third quarter to put Fort Hill ahead 54-45.
Allegany responded with Chris Manherz placing a backdoor pass to Devin Tinnen for an and-one layup to cut the deficit to six, but a pair of free throws from Liam Hamilton made it a 58-50 margin after three.
Manherz had a key stretch for the Campers to open the fourth quarter.
He drew a foul on the opening possession and split a pair at the line, then recorded a steal and sprinted for a layup to cut the deficit to 58-53.
Manherz finished with a game-high 22 points, adding five assists and two steals.
After Jabril Daniels answered with a layup on the other end, Manherz found Morgan Milhausen for a layup with 6:46 to play.
After each team missed a 3-pointer, Manherz found Eli Imes for a layup with 5:40 remaining that cut Fort Hill’s lead down to 60-57.
“The kids really bought in to what we’re doing,” Reed said. “They dug deep, it was a total team effort. A lot of intensity, they were getting loose balls. I think we probably rebounded the best we have this year. It was a lot to try and stay in it, keep fighting in it, that just took a toll on them to get over that hump.”
After the Campers opened the fourth on a 7-2 run, Hamilton answered with a putback off his own miss, followed by a jumper to stretch the lead to 66-59.
In the final 90 seconds, Allegany missed two layups and a triple.
Gamil Daniels added three points at the line, then Jabril Daniels came up with a steal and found Hamilton for a layup with 16 seconds to play and stretched the lead to 71-59.
“We were able to not panic, panic was definitely setting in but they gathered their composure,” Burner said. “Ran a couple good sets, made a couple good passes.”
Hamilton ended the game with a steal on the Campers’ final possession.
Eli Imes finished with 10 points and four rebounds for Allegany.
Fort Hill took the junior varsity game 44-38 led by Neek Taylor’s 12 points, while Alex Spriggs led the Campers, also with 12 points.
The Sentinels won the freshman game 68-31 as three players scored in double figures.
Ramelo Palmisano scored 16, Marquis Trimble added 13 and Nyzair Briggs finished with 10 for Fort Hill while Khiante Bible led the Campers with 15.
Allegany heads to Mountain Ridge (1-6) on Tuesday at 7 p.m.
Fort Hill hosts No. 2 Keyser (2-4) on Wednesday at 7:30 p.m.
“They always seemed to hit a dagger that killed our momentum,” Reed said. “That’s basketball, little here, little there. I don’t think it was any one play, more so just one kinda shot that went their way or one bounce that went their way and didn’t go our way.”