As the final buzzer sounded about an hour later, Ward had done just that. The junior four-star recruit scored 13 of his 17 points in the second half as the Lions rallied to a 61-55 win. The win avenged a late January loss and sent Largo back to the state quarterfinals after its championship game appearance last season. The Lions will host Thomas Stone next.
“As Cam goes, they go,” Largo Coach Rodney Ward said. “He told those guys, ‘Stay with me, get on my back, and I’m going to take you guys to the promised land’ — and he did.”
The Lions (22-2) and Yellow Jackets (22-2) were on a postseason collision course all season. The top two public school teams from Prince George’s County in The Washington Post’s rankings are in the same Class 2A subregion, meaning only one of them could reach the state quarterfinals.
The game lived up to its billing. With Ward in early foul trouble, the Yellow Jackets took an 11-point lead into halftime and looked poised to pull away.
Then came the Cam Ward avalanche. He opened the third quarter by banking in a layup and then drawing a charge on defense, after which he pounded his hands on the floor.
Largo’s 24-point quarter peaked when Ward sprinted down the court, grabbed a pass with both hands and dunked between two defenders. The Lions had erased the Yellow Jackets’ lead and then pulled away in the fourth quarter as Ward found a rhythm in the paint.
“My guys held me down the whole way, and they trusted me to get us back in it,” Ward said. “They just trusted me to give me the ball more, and I just trust those guys. I love those guys, and I appreciate them helping me get this done.”
Gwynn Park showed some fight in the final moments: After another Ward dunk gave Largo a nine-point lead, senior Ty Bevins swished home a corner three-pointer to give the Yellow Jackets some hope.
But in the end, Ward’s Lions stood tall. Senior Sean Johnson buried a clutch three-pointer and Gwynn Park’s last-second heaves caromed off the rim, sending Largo back to the state quarterfinals.