Paint Branch High School junior guard Jordon Radway had three fourth-quarter steals and scored 12 of his game-high 15 points in the second half to turn a close boys basketball game against host Clarksburg into a comfortable 51-39 victory Friday.

So what did his coach, Walt Hardy, like most about Radway’s performance?

“He finally took a charge,” Hardy said. “And he lived to tell about it. I’ve been trying to get him to take a charge all year.”

The No. 8 Panthers (14-7) led for most of the game, but the 10th-ranked Coyotes stayed within striking distance. Clarksburg started the fourth quarter with a 6-0 run to take a 37-35 lead, their first of the game.

Josh Hardy had two of those baskets for the Coyotes, both on layups.

Radway answered that with a 10-foot jumper, then stole a pass on the other end. After giving it up, he eventually got the ball back and delivered a reverse layup for a 39-37 lead.

Clarksburg tied it on another Josh Hardy layup, but another Radway steal started a 12-0 run that clinched the victory.

“I don’t like losing,” Radway said about his second-half heroics. “If I got to show up in the second half, that’s what I’m going to do for my team.”

Both teams struggled on offense, but the defenses had something to do with that.

“That was one of our focuses [against Clarksburg], coming in and playing good team defense,” said Radway. “We took a tough loss [on Tuesday against second-ranked Magruder] and that’s because we didn’t play good defense.”

His coach agreed that the defense was better, but saw other concerns with the playoffs a week away.

“Our defense was good, but our offense has been stagnant lately,” Walt Hardy said.

Josh Hardy finished with 11 points, guard D.J. Singleton added 10 for the Coyotes (13-8).

Radway said competing in Montgomery’s 4A East Division should definitely help the Panthers for the playoffs. Five of the six teams in the division have been ranked in the top 10 by The Gazette at some point this season. Four of the six are ranked in the top 10 this week.

“It’s been really good for a young team like ours,” Radway said. “We only have four seniors on the team, lots of juniors, so that should help us when the playoffs start.”

Of the four seniors on the Paint Branch roster, only one — guard Christian Roberts — is a starter.

Walt Hardy said that the final two games are mostly tune-ups for the playoffs. The regional pairings are scheduled to be announced Sunday morning, and first-round playoff games are set for next Friday. Paint Branch will play once more before the postseason begins, a Tuesday night home game against Northwest.

“It’s good both teams got a good game to help us get ready for the playoffs,” he said.

ksain@gazette.net

Paint Branch 51, Clarksburg 39

Paint Branch 12 6 17 16 — 51

Clarksburg 9 8 14 8 — 39

Paint Branch (14-7): Jordon Radway 15; Christian Roberts 13; Tristan Tolliver 10; Justin Hackley 6; Tre Galloway 3; Dom Ortiz 2; John Onukaogu 2.

Clarksburg (13-8): Josh Hardy 11; D.J. Singleton 10; Marcus Thomas 6; Isaiah Battle 5; Gary Rich 4; Rayvonne Hackshaw 3.