No. 5 Parkville boys overcome semifinal woes

UPPER MARLBORO — Parkville boys basketball’s only loss last season came in the Class 4A state semifinal — the same stage it reached Wednesday night for the third consecutive season. The lone blemish on an otherwise perfect season sent the Knights on a mission to avenge that defeat in 2023.

It was a goal coach Josh Czerski drilled into his players throughout the campaign. He badly wanted his players to finally experience playing for a championship after falling short in recent years.

No. 5 Parkville’s comfortable lead it held throughout the first half of its semifinal against Gaithersburg shrunk dramatically in the second. It was cut to four with less than four minutes to play, but the Knights’ defense rose to the occasion to prevent the Trojans from getting any closer.

Parkville’s suffocating defense forced four turnovers and held Gaithersburg to three points in the waning minutes, sending the

Knights to the championship game at last with a 71-58 win.

It’s the program’s third state championship appearance and first since 1974 as the Knights look to finish the job after falling to Eleanor Roosevelt, 59-57, in last year’s semifinal round. Parkville (26-1) will face Meade, which beat Sherwood, 58-51, in the other semifinal, on Saturday at 8 p.m. at University of Maryland’s Xfinity Center in College Park for a chance to win its first state title.

“We feel like we’re supposed to be here,” Czerski said. “We’ve been itching all year to get back.”

The coach installed new sets on both sides of the ball to prepare for Gaithersburg. It featured a 3-2 zone on defense, mainly to limit touches to the Trojans’ top offensive threats. TheKnightshavepracticeditoftenthroughout the season despite never using it in a game.

Czerski withheld it for a majority of Wednesday night’s game, choosing only to implement it when Gaithersburg rallied with a 22-point third quarter that trimmed Parkville’s eight-point halftime lead in half.

The strategy proved effective. The Trojans were held to 11 fourth-quarter points, allowing the Knights to pull away.

A pair of fourth-quarter 3s from Caron Smith, who scored a team-leading 21 points, helped Parkville separate. His team’s lead shrunk to four three times in the second half. They had a response for each one.

“We didn’t want to feel that feeling from last year,” junior guard Josiah Legree said.

After embracing his team, Czerski darted for the bleachers to share the moment with players’ parents and fans. They’ve waited nearly 50 years for another chance to win a state championship. Czerski wants to be the one to bring it to them.

“We’ve just been fighting our way, trying to get to Maryland,” the coach said. “We’re not concerned with just getting to the final four, getting to the championship. We want to win it.”

— Taylor Lyons, for The Baltimore Sun