Crossroads’ Victory a Clincher : Prep basketball: Roadrunners claim Delphic League title by edging foul-plagued Campbell Hall.

When Campbell Hall High really needed a foul Tuesday night, it could not find one. When it did not need one, there were fouls aplenty, especially from the wrong guy.

With junior guard Austin McKellar on the bench with five fouls in the fourth quarter, Campbell Hall fell to Crossroads, 57-53, in a Delphic League game at Campbell Hall.

Crossroads (13-7, 9-0 in league play) clinched the league title for the second year in a row and eighth time in nine seasons. For Campbell Hall (19-3, 6-3), which had retribution in mind after a controversial road loss to Crossroads last month, it was the second frustrating defeat at the hands of the Roadrunners, a team it has never beaten.

McKellar, unquestionably the team catalyst at point guard, fouled out with 10 points--eight under his season average--and 5 minutes 40 seconds remaining. Strange as it might seem, the Vikings sure could have used a well-timed McKellar foul in the final minute.

A pair of clutch free throws by freshman center Alex Lopez (14 points) brought Campbell Hall to within 53-51 with 48 seconds left. What followed was Crossroads’ most critical possession--senior Kahlil Allen’s foul of Lopez was his fifth, putting the probable league most valuable player on the bench.

Nonplussed, Crossroads inbounded the ball, worked it across midcourt and rolled out a textbook stall. Campbell Hall, unable to foul anyone, allowed the clock to run down to 23 seconds before Austin Croshere was finally fouled inside while shooting. Croshere, a sophomore, made both free throws to again extend the lead to four.

Campbell Hall forward Scott Glass scored inside on a follow shot with 13 seconds left, and this time, the Vikings immediately fouled Travon Dugar (12 points) on the inbounds pass. Yet Dugar, another sophomore, made both ends of a one-and-one situation for a four-point lead with 12 seconds left.

“I knew the sophomores would come through,” Allen said. “I don’t know how, but I knew.”

It started to unravel for Campbell Hall when McKellar was called for his fifth foul, a charging call on which a basket was waved off. Had the basket counted, the Vikings would have pulled even at 43-43.

Campbell Hall pulled even on a 15-foot jump shot by Taylor Williams (10 points) with 3:15 remaining, but Lopez and Glass missed shots inside that could have given the Vikings a lead. Allen (17 points) made two free throws with 2:38 left, but Lopez answered with a power move inside. After a Crossroads turnover, the Vikings missed their final chance at a lead when Lopez threw up an airball.