A River Hill boys basketball team searching for some much-needed momentum delivered under the bright lights Friday.

Led by a game-high 22 points from junior Aiden Igwebe and spurred on by a dominating first quarter, the host Hawks held off unbeaten Long Reach down the stretch for a 65-64 victory. The win, on the heels of its narrow triumph over Oakland Mills Wednesday, marks the first time this winter that River Hill (6-4 overall, 4-2 Howard County) has won two games in a row.

“A Friday night game, Long Reach coming in with a perfect record and us having pulled one out the other day … it absolutely was the perfect storm to see how much we’ve grown up over this last month,” River Hill coach Matt Graves said. “I knew we had this in us, but the question was we were ready for the big stage? And I think that first quarter answered it. Long Reach made their runs, like I knew they would as the game went on, but we never wavered.

“As a coach, there’s no better feeling than that.”

Long Reach (9-1, 5-1 Howard) came into the match-up against the Hawks having won its five Howard County games this winter by an average of 29 points a contest. But it was River Hill that set the tone right from the opening tip.

Patient Hawks’ possessions led to open shots on offense, while their defense eliminated transition opportunities and forced turnovers in the halfcourt. By the opening minute of the second quarter, River Hill had built itself a commanding 21-3 advantage with Igwebe, Braden Sauritch (12 points) and Matt Behrmann (11) leading the way.

“We talked about it coming in … this is the best help defense we are going to play all season and until you see it at game speed, it’s hard to prepare for. So, it absolutely took us time to adjust,” Long Reach coach Andrew Lazzor said. “And that was a big hole we dug ourselves into. But to our guy’s credit, they showed some moxie and confidence after that … and never hung their heads.”

Long Reach’s answer was swift. RJ Barnes Jr. hit a 3-pointer from the wing with 7:01 left in the first half to kickstart an 18-2 burst over a span of just three minutes. By the time Barnes Jr. slammed home an emphatic fast-break dunk with 4:05 left in the quarter, the Lightning were back within two, 23-21.

But, as was the case all evening, River Hill never let Long Reach get over the hump. In fact, the Lightning closed within one possession of the lead on eight occasions during the final 20 minutes without being able to tie or go ahead.

“We talked in the timeouts about settling down, avoiding the turnovers that would lead to them getting those quick baskets,” said Igwebe, who scored six of his points in the second quarter and 10 more in the third. “We just had to be calm and remind ourselves that even though they were making runs, we still were in control of the game. We just had to make the next play and that’s what we did.”

River Hill led 33-25 at the half and, even with some inspired play from Long Reach’s Ethan Maokhamphiou (20 points — all in the second half), the Hawks maintained a one-point lead, 46-45, going into the fourth quarter.

The momentum shifted several times during the final period of play; however, it was once again a one-point game in the final seconds. Long Reach had a final chance to win at the buzzer, but a running lay-up attempt by Jayden Saunders (9 points) was just off the mark.

“When you fall behind by 18 points like that, there is just such little room for error. Every missed opportunity is magnified, and we just needed one or two other little things to go our way that unfortunately didn’t,” Lazzor said. “It’s a tough one. Of course, we would have loved to win the game … would love to be 10-0. But we showed a lot tonight, learned a lot and I think we will be a better team moving forward because of it.”

Christian Dean added 15 points in the loss for Long Reach.

On the other side, Graves said his group is just scratching the surface of its potential and this victory could be a sign of things to come.

“I truly believe we still haven’t come close to our ceiling. We saw bits and pieces of it today, particularly in that first quarter, but we are still trying to find ways to sustain it,” Graves said. “There’s no substitute, though, for getting down to those final minutes in a one possession game and the kids having to make plays. Being able to draw upon that experience moving forward is what I’m hoping will make a difference for us.”

RIVER HILL 65, NO. 11 LONG REACH 64

Long Reach - Ethan Maokhamphiou 20, Christian Dean 15, RJ Barnes Jr. 9, Jayden Saunders 9, Brendan Diggs 7, Michael Reid 2, Cameron Valentine 2.

River Hill - Aiden Igwebe 22, Braden Saurich 12, Matt Behrmann 11, Justin Bishop 8, Josh Abu 6, Demetre Koutras 4, Jaden Watson 2.

Long Reach 3 22 20 19 - 64

River Hill 18 15 13 19 - 65