Cam Albury carriers Northeast-AA to its first MPSSAA state championship

Eagle senior pours in 25 points and leads his team back from a double-digit fourth quarter deficit

COLLEGE PARK, MARYLAND – In heroic effort not previously seen in the Northeast-AA High School athletic history, senior Cam Albury scored 25 points, including 15 in the fourth quarter to lead the Eagles back from a double-digit deficit and to a 69-66 victory over St. Charles in the MPSSAA Class 3A boys basketball state championship game, Friday night at the University of Maryland’s Xfinity Center.

After an impressive first quarter which finished with Northeast (22-5) holding a 15-9 lead, the Eagles were outscored 41-24 over the next two quarters, including a 22-8 shellacking in the third period, to fall behind by 12, at 50-38.

However, it was just about go time for the Eagles.

Northeast-AA senior Cameron Albury gets bear-hugged by coach Roger O’Dea during the awards ceremony for the MPSSAA Class 3A boys basketball state championship game. Albury led a furious fourth quarter comeback as the Eagles defeated St. Charles, 69-66.  / Photo by Derek Toney

Led by Albury, Northeast outscored St. Charles 31-16 in the fourth quarter, surging ahead in the final minute and holding on for the three-point victory. Fittingly, Albury scored what proved to be the winning basket when he beat his defender, split two others and converted a driving layup with an underhanded scoop, with less than 20 seconds to play. That score gave the Eagles a 67-66 lead.

Ryan Stacy added two free throws with four seconds left and then blocked a desperation three-point attempt by Shamir Taylor of St. Charles to ice the victory.

The state title was a long-time coming for Northeast, which reached the state semifinals in 2020 with a good shot to win their first state crown at the time. That was as the outset of the COVID-19 outbreak, however, and the tournament was abruptly cancelled days before the teams were set to head to College Park.

Denied a shot to compete for a state title in 2020, after reaching the state semifinals, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Northeast-AA returned to College Park on Friday night and rallied past St. Charles to win the MPSSAA 3A state championship / Photo by Derek Toney

Albury’s older brother Jaylin was on that Northeast team and Cam wanted to win on Friday to bring a little bit of redemption for his brother. He even wore Jaylin’s warm-up shirt during the pregame.

Shamar Johnson also had a huge game for Northeast, scoring 20 points, and Jaydss Fifer scored 17, while Stacy added five.

St. Charles (20-6), stunned by the fourth quarter collapse, was led by a monster 31-point effort by senior Xavier Buchanan and 22 points from Taylor.

The St. Charles Spartans appeared to be on their way to the MPSSAA 3A state championship when the fourth quarter got underway on Friday. Northeast-AA, however, rallied for 69-66 victory / Photo by Derek Toney