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VIDEO: Howard defeats Hodgson in Flight B Battle

Howard went six of eight from the free throw line to withstand a late Hodgson rally in a tight 54-51 Flight B victory Tuesday night.

Trailing 49-48 with 1:53 to go, Larry Woody hit a pair of shots from the charity stripe to go up one. Jakir Stewart then went 2-for-2 after a Hodgson miss to make the advantage 3 with under a minute to go.

Bilal Nichols hit a layup on the next possession for Hodgson, but after splitting a pair of free throws to go up just two, Howard forced a Hodgson turnover. Again Howard went just 1-of-2, allowing a buzzer-beating three to be hoisted that went off the rim no-good, ending the battle between Vo-Tech district rivals.

Host Hodgson jumped out to an 8-0 lead, with Howard not getting on the board for nearly the first six minutes of the game. The Wildcats then scored the next 7 points in about a minute, but still trailed 10-7 after one quarter.

Howard took their first lead at 15-14 on a jumper by Gjaimeir Stanford. They fell behind again briefly after a LaQwin Stewart three, but a late Larry Woody triple helped them go up 25-21 at intermission.

Howard led most of the third quarter, but a buzzer-beating 17-foot shot by Hodgson's Raymond Jones put the Silver Eagles up 40-39 going into the 4th quarter, helping to set up the late-game drama.

Woody led three Wildcats (4-0) in double-figures with 20 points, with Tyaire Ponzo-Meek scoring 14 points and Stanford adding 10. Nichols led Hodgson (2-1) with 17 points.