Blake Boys Basketball’s Heart-Stopping OT Win Sends Them to State Championship

Last night, Tuesday, March 10th, 2026, the Blake boys’ basketball team defeated Meade High School 66-64 in the state semifinals. This takes the Bengals to the state championship game, where Blake will face another MCPS team, the Walt Whitman Vikings, in the Maryland 4A state title at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, this Saturday, March 14th.

Last night’s game was sold out (which Blake tends to do). Hundreds of students, staff, journalists, and family members attended the neutral site at North County High School in Glen Ferndale, Maryland, to show their support. Both the Roaring Bengal Pep Band and the cheer team showed up and showed out with spirit, and the “Blake-pride” was surely in the room. 

The Tuesday night game was the definition of an overtime thriller, as the Bengals and Mustangs had an array of back-to-back scoring possessions. The final play of the 4th quarter consisted of a timeout called by Head Varsity Coach Mr. Brandon Howell when Blake had possession of the ball and the game was tied. The play call was impressive, as Blake’s leading 3-point shooter, #1, Christian Kennard, acquired the basketball, took the shot, and got fouled, leading to 3 free throw chances for the Bengals. Christian needed to make 2 of 3 shots to tie the game and send it to overtime, and so he did. 

The gymnasium watched intensely as the Mustangs and Bengals went head-to-head in an exciting 4-minute overtime. The game was neck and neck, the clock was ticking, and the crowd was seemingly overwhelmed with emotions. With some even turning their heads as the score got close.

#10 Baba Oladotun, who is notably ESPN’s 8th-ranked player in the nation (committed to the University of Maryland, College Park), was out all season with injuries. Baba, however, showed up when it mattered most against the Mustangs in his first on-court appearance all year. With the game tied, 10.7 seconds left on the clock, the Bengals had 2 missed free-throw opportunities. After the last foul shot attempt, the ball nearly went out of bounds and was deflected back onto the court. #4, Tahj Martin, quickly recovered the basketball with a dished pass to Baba. Then, he squared up and took a contested shoulder-to-shoulder layup, scoring the 2 points that won Blake the game, 66-64. 

In the game, the Bengals had 4 team members with double-digit scoring, including #1, Christian Kennard’s 18 points (leading Blake); #5, Armani Fowlkes, who posted 16 points and 4 steals; Baba, with a momentum-changing 11 points; and #11 Abder Ouattara, contributing 11 points on 67% shooting. Point guard Tahj Martin also put up an incredible effort with 8 points, 5 rebounds, and 6 assists to keep the offense going. To note, this story would not be complete without Abder, who had a robust 19 rebounds and 4 steals, highly contributing to the team’s offensive and defensive effort. 

The Bengals have had an amazing season so far, with “one more” to go, as the team quoted on their social media handles. Blake will face the Walt Whitman Vikings in the Maryland 4A state title at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, this Saturday, March 14th. Tipping off at 7:30 pm.

Blake community, be sure to show your support and buy your tickets when they go live for general sale on Thursday, March 12th, on GoFan. To note, Blake’s student section tickets went live this evening at 7 pm. To purchase, make sure to search for tickets under the MPSSAA profile.