By Varun Shankar March 8, 2023 at 10:32 p.m. EST

As Meade huddled with under a minute left in Wednesday’s Maryland 4A boys’ semifinal, Coach Mike Glick saw no sign of panic. Instead, his players met him with clear eye contact and steady communication.

The Mustangs’ play hadn’t been as calm — they had let Sherwood trim a 15-point deficit at the end of the third quarter to just four. A flurry of giveaways and missed free throws prevented Glick’s squad from getting comfortable.

But the Mustangs’ defense kept its poise, holding the Warriors scoreless in the final minute to clinch a spot in the state final with a 58-51 win at Montgomery Blair High.

“Man, I was just hoping we’d get over the hump,” said senior forward Kyree Scott, who scored a game-high 17 points. “I tried to keep my composure and keep my team together because I know we’ve been there before.”

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The Mustangs didn’t make it easy. Meade turned the ball over on three possessions late, the last coming when an overzealous offensive rebounder jumped for a fast-break layup that probably would have gone down anyway and nullified it because of basket interference.

The win sent Meade into a state final against Parkville on Saturday at Xfinity Center. The Knights beat Gaithersburg in the other semifinal, 71-58.

Meade (24-3) advanced to the state semifinals a season ago and took a 14-point lead against Churchill but gave up a 20-0 run and lost by five. In that game, Glick saw his team unravel. These Mustangs avoided such a fate.

“Experience is the best teacher,” the coach said.

The fourth-quarter surge was the second comeback Meade fended off. The first came when Sherwood (21-6) made four three-pointers in the third quarter to cut a 19-point lead to nine. But the Mustangs answered.

“I knew it wasn’t going to be easy,” senior guard Xavion Roberson said. “Our team knew that. We stayed together, and we handled business.”

The win, the Mustangs’ sixth straight, ensured an impressive season will get a fitting final chapter. An 18-1 start made the Mustangs the class of Anne Arundel County before they suffered back-to-back losses to Broadneck and South River. But Meade ended the regular season with a blowout of Chesapeake. Then came a rematch with the Bruins in the county championship, in which the Mustangs earned a measure of revenge with a decisive nine-point victory.

The last piece of business comes Saturday, with Meade searching for the program’s first championship since 2015.