By DOUG DONNELLY

OTTAWA LAKE – His coach calls it the shake.

When it comes to basketball, Carson Brown has a little bit of a shake that enables him to get open seemingly whenever he needs to be. Friday night his Erie Mason Eagles teammates relied on Brown and that shake to break free from the Whiteford Bobcats for a come-from-behind 55-53 win.

Brown scored 11 points in the fourth quarter, including the game winner with 1.9 seconds left on a layup.

“I told coach to run four-down,” Brown said. “That is where basically I just have the ball and I can dribble and try to score and I was able to do that.”

Mason head coach Kevin Skaggs said the play was designed for Brown.

“He has the ability to get a layup anytime because of that bounce, that shake,” Skaggs said. “He has just that quickness, that little burst of speed. That’s what you need in basketball.”

Mason was down as many as nine points Friday and trailed 45-40 when the fourth quarter began. Brown took over the game.

Whiteford had four shots at the basket on its end of the floor with the score tied 53-53 but couldn’t convert. Brown grabbed a loose ball and called timeout with 14.9 seconds left. The play called was for Brown to get the ball and look for something open.

With about five seconds left, he made a move to the basket, got by the Whiteford defender and laid in a layup. He was mobbed by a nice size crowd of Mason supporters at the game, which clinched the outright Tri-County Conference championship for the Eagles.

“The whole second half, coach was telling me that I need to be aggressive,” Brown said. “In that fourth quarter I just knew I had to be more aggressive.”

Mason didn’t lead in Friday’s game until going in front 47-45 on two Brown free throws with 6:01 left in the game. It was a back-and-forth battle for the next three minutes. Whiteford’s Luke Rasor put the Bobcats in front 53-49 with 3:02 left in the game. It was the last time Whiteford would score as Mason closed the game on a 6-0 run.

“In the summer we play against Division 1 schools,” Brown said. “We don’t really get nervous. It was a big game for us. We knew we had to come and battle.”

Mason head coach Kevin Skaggs wasn’t entirely sure what to expect from his team Friday after challenging them after Tuesday’s loss. The Eagles held a closed-door team meeting Thursday and aired some grievances.

Skaggs said the Eagles had one of its best practices of the season on Thursday, prepping for Friday’s TCC showdown at Whiteford.

“I put it out there,” Skaggs said. “This team was not playing up to our standards. I told they had two options, blame me and fall apart of come together and move forward. We have a good rapport and a great relationship. They took it well.”

Brown finished with 27 points, one point under half of the Eagles total for the night. Alex Langenderfer finished with 13, but six other Eagles found the scorebook.

Whiteford had three players in double figures – Rasor with 16, Kolby Masserant with 13 and Evan Parker with 10. Hunter DeBarr had all eight of his points in a 19-point Whiteford first quarter that put the Bobcats into a great position early.

Bobcat head coach Nick Abalos said the team made some uncharacteristic turnovers late in the game but has to put the loss behind them.

“We just have to stay positive,” he said. “If we play like this in districts, we’ll be right there with anybody.”

Whiteford is 14-7 and finishes 9-3 in the TCC. They have one regular season game left – Tuesday at home against Jefferson.

The Eagles are 14-6 and finished 11-1 in the league, their fifth consecutive outright league championship.

Erie Mason 11 19 10 15 – 55      

Whiteford 19 15 11 8 – 53

Erie Mason: Langenderfer 5(2) 1-1 13, Carson Brown 10(4) 3-4 27, Casey Brown 3 1-1 7, Wise 1(1) 0-0 3, K. Herrera 1 0-0 2, T. Herrera 0 1-1 1, Iocoangeli 1 0-0 2. Totals 21(7) 6-8 55.

Whiteford: S. Ruddy 2 2-3 6, Parker 4(2) 0-0 10, DeBarr 4 0-0 8, Rasor 6 4-4 16, Masserant 5 3-4 13. Totals 21(2) 9-11 53.