Anne Arundel boys’ basketball: Old Mill snaps Arundel’s 20-game win streak in chaotic finish

Gavin Salmond needed every extra second to complete the comeback that ended No. 11 Arundel’s 20-game winning streak.

The Old Mill senior guard drove three-quarters of the length of the court and scored a layup at the buzzer to give the Patriots a dramatic 61-59 win in an Anne Arundel County game in Millersville on Tuesday. But if not for a timekeeping error followed by an inadvertent whistle, regulation time would have run out on Salmond.

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“I wouldn’t have been able to make it all the way to the basket,” he said.

Arundel (20-1, 14-1 Anne Arundel) led by two with 17 seconds left when Old Mill (15-6, 13-2) missed the second of two free throws. But the scoreboard operator did not start the clock during the ensuing scramble for the loose ball, which was recovered by Old Mill.

Salmond was fouled and the clock was set to 13 seconds remaining after the whistle, but a media member filming the game noted nine seconds had elapsed on his camera’s timer so only eight seconds should have remained.

“They didn’t have an explanation,” Arundel Coach Jeff Starr said. “They just said they didn’t realize the clock didn’t run and the scorekeepers couldn’t see the play because the bench was standing up in front of them.”

Salmond made both free throws to tie the score, and after Arundel missed a jump shot with five seconds left on its next possession, an official blew an inadvertent whistle after a defensive rebound. That stopped the clock and gave Old Mill a chance to set up the inbounds play that led to Salmond’s winning layup.

“I don’t even know” what happened, Salmond said. “But, yeah, we got it.”

The chaotic ending overshadowed a roller-coaster game that saw Arundel overcome a 10-point halftime deficit with a 20-3 run to start the third quarter, only to lose an eight-point lead in the final two minutes of regulation.

The win extends Old Mill’s winning streak to 11, and forces Arundel to win its final regular season game at South River on Friday to seal the regular season county championship outright.

Salmond finished with a game-high 17 points, while David Nicholson scored 16 and Austin Carroll had 15 to lead Arundel.

“The first thing I said [in the locker room after the game] is ‘We still have a game scheduled Friday,’ ” Starr said. “It’s crushing when you’re on a streak like this, but the season’s not over.”