The scene was set Friday night. Tie game. Seconds remaining. Raucous environment at a packed gym at Sherwood High School. The Blake Bengals called on senior Nick Womack to drive the lane, finish at the rim and pull his team out of Sandy Spring with a vital win over their rival.
After all, Womack was the game’s leading scorer to that point with 20 points and had poured in 10 in the fourth quarter.
Off a screen set by 6-foot-9 freshman guard (yes, guard) Baba Oladotun, Sherwood sent a double team Womack’s way. With five ticks left on the clock, Womack passed to the open man. Oladotun did the rest, draining the game-winning 3-pointer.
CRAZY FINISH HERE AT THE END OF BLAKE- SHERWOOD.
Deep 3 from Baba Oladotun gives Blake a 3 point lead with 2 seconds left. Then, during a Timeout Blake is assessed a technical foul. Evin Thompson hits 2/2 FT and because of the Tech the ball gets advanced to half court.
Sherwood… pic.twitter.com/uaqr4upbfK— Capitol Hoops (@CapitolHoops) February 10, 2024
“Just the team overall, they’ve been unselfish and making the right play,” Head Coach Desmin Wade told MCM. “We knew that either way, we would get the shot that we wanted.”
Having already knocked down two three-pointers in the game, Oladotun knew what to do when Nick Womack’s pass found him in the waning seconds.
Oladotun figured to be next in the long and rich history of basketball talent at DeMatha Catholic High School.
But after just two months at the private school in Hyattsville, Oladotun switched to his hometown public school, replacing John of Matha’s namesake with Eubie Blake’s.
“We were happy and grateful for the decision – that he would trust us, his dad would trust us,” Wade said. “He’s just a great kid to be around.”
Oladotun is this week’s Montgomery County High School Athlete of the Week.
Each week throughout the school year, the Montgomery County Sports Hall of Fame is partnering with Montgomery Community Media to honor an Athlete of the Week from the county’s more than 40 public and private high schools.
“This is a big win for us,” Oladotun told Capitol Hoops after the game. “As long as we trust each other, play through each other – I feel like we’re gonna win the state’s.”
Blake sits at 12-4 on the season with a regional record of 5-3, good for first in the Montgomery 4A/3A East Region.
Featured photo of Oladotun and Coach Wade taken by Tim Ho, courtesy of Blake Athletics.
