Boys basketball: Last night's Slam Dunk to the Beach final came down to the closing 12 seconds, but 7-footer Will Bowers missed two tip tries and Rudy Gay a short jumper in Archbishop Spalding's 49-48 loss to unbeaten St. Benedict's (N.J.) at Cape Henlopen High in the title game of the Slam Dunk to the Beach. After St. Benedict's then failed on a free throw with three seconds left, the 6-7 Gay rebounded and took a full-court heave that was off-target at the buzzer. The decisive sequence began when Spalding's Matt Latonick missed a free throw after being fouled on a 3-point try with his team down 49-47. Latonick was errant on his first try, but then canned a second to pull the Cavs within a point. With the game on the line, Spalding's two biggest stars took their shots at winning for the third straight time at Slam Dunk. Arundel County's top-ranked team just missed on its opportunity to win its portion of a tournament that was a who's who of national-level prep prospects with upper Division I and National Basketball Association aspirations. Spalding won twice last week to make the championship match. "I couldn't be prouder of the way we played tonight and the way we represented ourselves and Anne Arundel County," said Spalding coach Mike Glick, whose team dropped to 8-2 heading into Friday's game at Cardinal Gibbons. "This tournament has brought our team together and we're now fully prepared to get on with the rest of our season." Gay was outstanding in the first half, scoring 10 of his game-high 20 points as Spalding built a 33-25 lead over a team that included at least three upper-Division I recruits. Bowers added eight of his 11 points in the first 16 minutes. St. Benedict's (6-0) pulled within 44-41 heading into what was a tense fourth quarter battle. St. Benedict's 6-foot-4 guard Artie Bowers (10 points) is committed to Massachusetts, while back-court mate J.R. Smith (13 points) has an offer from North Carolina. Stanley Branch, a 6-8 center, added 13 points. Spalding's Dave Douglas proved to be a defensive stopper on Smith in a box and one setup that kept him under wraps for much of the game. "Once we put Dave on J.R. Smith, he barely got anything at all," Glick said. Bowers finished with 10 rebounds, and Gay grabbed nine. Jesse Brooks made five assists and scored five points. Spalding (8-2) 1419114--48 St. Benedict's (6-0) 1213168--49 Spalding (48)Gay 8(1) 3-4 20, Bowers 4 3-6 11, Durr 2 0-0 4, Douglas 1 2-4 4, Brooks 2(1) 0-0 5, Latonick 1(1) 1-3 4. TOTALS: 18(3) 9-17 48.St. Benedict's (49)Bowers 4 2-3 10, Mason 2(1) 0-0 5, Galindo 2 4-6 8, Smith 5(2) 1-1 13, Branch 5 3-5 13. TOTALS: 18(3) 10-16 49. Published December 31, 2002, The Capital, Annapolis, Md. Copyright © 2003 The Capital, Annapolis, Md.