Gwynn Park coach Mike Glick wasted little time turning his attention to tonight's upcoming battle with conference rival Friendly High School.

Immediately after Friday night's last-second victory over Largo, Glick began discussing tonight's battle for first place in the County 3A/2A/1A League.

"This was just one game and it gives us the opportunity to play for first place," he said. "Now we get to play Friendly and it's going to be a battle."

Tonight's game at Gwynn Park could go a long way in determining the winner of the league.

Gwynn Park (9-3, 8-0) enters the game winners of 28 straight league games with its last loss coming in February of 2007, but the recent games have been close. The Yellow Jackets have won four of their last five games by a combined nine points. The only easy game was a 26-point victory against Central.

Glick said those types of games will have the Yellow Jackets ready for the tournament and tonight's game.

"Our kids have been very resilient all year," he said. "We have given up leads and made comebacks. That just shows the type of resilience that these kids have."

Friendly (10-1, 9-0) comes in winners of its last five games. The Patriots haven't lost a game since Dec. 30, but have also played in some close contests. Friendly has won its last four games by a combined total of 22 points.

Friendly coach Robert Garner said his team is trying to get on the level Gwynn Park has been the past few seasons.

"To get to the point where they have been, you have to beat teams like Gwynn Park," he said. "We still have a lot to improve upon and we need to play better if we are going to beat a team like Gwynn Park."

Although Garner stresses the importance of this game, he also wants his players to understand the season doesn't end with tonight's game. Win or lose, the Patriots have to be ready to continue with their difficult schedule, which includes a game Friday night against Forestville.

"We aren't going to win it all with just one game," he said. "We know what to expect and I am sure they know what to expect from us. We have to play a perfect 32 minutes to win this game."

E-mail Joshua Hudson at jhudson@gazette.net

Gwynn Park's Brandon Ford had been in this situation before: down by a point, five seconds left and the game in his hands.

And just like he has done before, the sophomore lifted his team to victory.

Ford raced down the court and made a jumper at the buzzer to lift the Gwynn Park High School boys' basketball team past Largo, 59-58, Friday night at Largo High School.

"This is a typical Gwynn Park-Largo game," Gwynn Park coach Mike Glick said. "I think this is the best rivalry in the county."

The victory was the Yellow Jackets' 28th straight in the County 3A/2A/1A League. Their last league loss came in February 2007 at Largo. But as time wound down on Friday night, it looked like the streak would come to an end on the very same floor.

Gwynn Park had the ball and led, 57-56, with 11 seconds remaining. But Largo's Aaron Martin stole an inbound pass and made a layup to give the Lions the lead, 58-57, with five seconds remaining.

"Five seconds to go and you're up one you think you are going to win," Largo coach Lewis Howard said. "You just never know what's going to happen."

What happened was that Ford did what he has done numerous times during his young basketball career. Glick said Ford made several game-winning shots with his AAU team and has delivered clutch shots for the Yellow Jackets this year.

So when the final play was being drawn up, there was no doubt in Glick's mind who was getting the ball.

"The play turned out just how we wanted it," Glick said. "We wanted the ball in Brandon's hand coming down the sideline. He had the option to pass it to Keith [Thomas] or take it himself."

Ford said he didn't feel any extra pressure being in that situation.

"The play was designed to go to Keith because he was making all the 3-pointers, but I figured they would overplay him," he said. "Once I figured that out, I just decided to take it myself."

Thomas led the Yellow Jackets (9-3, 8-0) with 16 points, including four 3-pointers. Corey Anderson was next with 15 points, while Ford added eight.

Malik Thomas scored 15 points to lead the Lions (6-5, 4-4). Martin added 14 points, while Rashard Richardson chipped in 11 and Marcel Lane scored 10.

Gwynn Park's win, coupled with Friendly's 97-90 victory against Potomac on Friday, sets up another marquee matchup next week. Gwynn Park and Friendly both are 8-0 in the County 3A/2A/1A League and will meet at 7:15 p.m. Thursday at Gwynn Park High.

Gwynn Park 59, Largo 58

Gwynn Park (9-3, 8-0): Corey Anderson 15, Maurice Peavy 3, Keith Thomas 16, Brian Blue 6, Brandon Ford 8, Tion Coates 4, Cory Williams 3, Ryan Woodard 4.

Largo (6-5, 4-4): Marcel Lane 10, Rashard Richardson 11, Aaron Martin 14, E.J. Olumese 1, Malik Thomas 15, Brandon Bailey 3, Damonte McNeil 4.

Rebounds: Gwynn Park 37, Largo 31.

Assists: Gwynn Park 12, Largo 8.

Halftime: Largo 34, Gwynn Park 30.

The Yellow Jackets have now won 26 straight games in the conference. Their last conference loss came in February, 2007.

Keith Thomas paced Gwynn Park with 22 points, including 6-of-9 from 3-point range. Sophomore Brandon Ford added 21 and Woodard, a junior, came up big with 13 points.

Gwynn Park High School senior Corey Anderson wouldn't have even seen his name in a box score after three quarters of Friday night's game against Potomac.

The forward wasn't a factor as the Yellow Jackets built their double-digit lead. But when Potomac threatened to tie the game late in the fourth quarter, it was Anderson who saved the game for Gwynn Park.

He had a key defensive stop and made the deciding free throw as Gwynn Park held on to defeat Potomac, 79-78, in a County 3A/2A/1A League game.

Gwynn Park coach Mike Glick said there was no doubt who the Yellow Jackets' most valuable player was down the stretch.

"We really kept our composure and [Anderson] really stepped up," he said. "He was our MVP tonight and made some huge plays down the stretch."

Perhaps the biggest play Anderson made came on defense with less than a minute remaining in the game.

Gwynn Park was clinging to a two-point lead when Anderson blocked a shot by Potomac's Jamaine Lee. The Wolverines pulled down the offensive rebound, but missed the putback. Anderson then grabbed the defensive rebound and was fouled.

"I just slid over and got it from behind," Anderson said.

But the game wasn't over yet since Anderson had missed four straight free throws, which kept Potomac within three points. But he calmly made his final free throw to put the game away.

Anderson finished with eight points in the fourth quarter to carry Gwynn Park, which improved to 6-3 overall and 5-0 in league play.

"I was just glad that it was finally over," Anderson said after making his final free throw. "I missed four in a row and my teammates were telling me to just get the game over with."

Early on, it didn't look like the game was going to come down to a free throw.

Gwynn Park enjoyed a commanding 43-22 advantage on the boards, and at halftime led by 17. The Yellow Jackets still held a double-digit lead in the fourth quarter, but couldn't close out the Wolverines.

Potomac forced 26 turnovers, including seven in the fourth quarter, to get within single digits. The Wolverines closed within two points and had several chances to tie the game, but couldn't convert.

Daron Wiseman led Potomac (5-3, 2-2) with 29 points, including five 3-pointers. Gregory Morgan was next with 20 points, while Chris Wiseman chipped in 15. DeAndre Montgomery added 12.

Potomac assistant coach Aaron Holder guided the team in place of head coach Torrance Oxendine, who was serving a one-game suspension after being ejected from an earlier game. Holder said his team is never out of games because of its ability to use pressure defense.

"We have really good guards that keep the pressure on the other team," he said. "These kids don't really pay attention to the scoreboard. We just have to learn how to close games out."

Likewise, Glick mentioned that his team needs to work on handling tense situations late in games.

"I am proud of how resilient we are because most teams might not have been able to finish the game like we did," he said. "But we have to learn how to finish games and finish teams off."

Brian Blue led the Yellow Jackets with 16 points. Tion Coates was next with 15 points and 14 rebounds. Keith Thomas added 11 points, while Ryan Woodard added 10.

The game marked the 25th straight conference victory for the Yellow Jackets. They haven't lost a league game since February 2007. Anderson said that's something they aren't about to do any time soon.

"We just don't want to lose a game, especially at home," he said. "Last year we didn't lose a league game and we don't want to this year."

E-mail Joshua Hudson at jhudson@gazette.net.

Gwynn Park (6-3, 5-0): Corey Anderson 8, Travon Hall 4, Malachi Malik 5, Maurice Peavy 4, Keith Thomas 11, Brian Blue 16, Brandon Ford 6, Tion Coates 15, Ryan Woodard 10.

Rebounds: Gwynn Park 43, Potomac 22.

Assists: Gwynn Park 24, Potomac 20.

Halftime score: Gwynn Park, 46-29.