Freshman guard Anthony Clay walks up to free throw line limping and smirking with 4.6 seconds left in the game. The limp was from physical play during the Feb. 9 AAA championship game against Washington at Kezar Pavilion and the smirk from knowing he was about to get his revenge.

Lianna Leal Freshman guard Anthony Clay drives for two of his 11 points.

The last time these two teams faced each other, on Jan. 26, the Cardinals came back from a 26-point deficit only to lose by one point in a heart-breaker. That game ended with Clay missing a would-be game-winning three-pointer as time expired.

But at the championship, Lowell held an insurmountable 10-point lead in the waning seconds of the game when the Eagles fouled Clay in a desperation move. As Clay approached the line, he “was just trying to calm down,” he said. “I knew we had won. I wanted to work on my free throws because I was 3-11 in the last game.”

What happened next probably wasn’t as Clay planned it — he air-balled the first shot and missed the second — but the Cardinals won 58-48 anyway, the sweetest revenge Clay could ask for.

During the first half, Lowell had to worry about stopping Washington big man Solomon Walker before they could plan their celebration. Walker simply dominated the first 16 minutes, outrebounding and swatting any Cardinal who entered the paint. Lowell only led 26-23 at halftime. They knew they would have to make some adjustments to slow down Walker.

“We dropped into the zone so there would be less cuts and more men down low,” said freshman center Iwunze Ugo, the man primarily responsible for trying to guard Walker.

It worked. The Cardinals opened the second half with a 9-1 scoring run. In fact, Washington did not make their first second-half field goal until forward Eric Yen drained a jumper with 2:45 left in the third quarter.

As the quarter came to a close, the Eagles clawed their way back to within six points and seemed to have the momentum heading into the final stretch. Washington’s short-lived dream of comeback was quickly put to rest when sophomore guard Michael Yonemoto hit a fade-away three with a man in his face as time expired, the most important shot of the game.

“It was just instinct,” Yonemoto said. “I knew I was going to take the shot. We came out more intense in the fourth quarter because of it.”

The fourth quarter belonged to the Cardinals; they never allowed the Eagles to come within seven points.

Lowell’s final game was its best. After playing 32 minutes of sloppy basketball during the regular-season Washington game, the Cardinals came close to perfection in the championship. “That one loss gave us a wake-up call,” sophomore guard Harlan Hamakawa said. “It made us more determined to win this one.”

Sophomore guard Darrin Mock agreed. “We came out harder and were not going to go down by 26,” he said. “We should’ve won the previous game. Revenge is that much better. To have it in a championship game is just great.”

Although too team-oriented to admit it, Mock’s championship victory was made that much sweeter by being selected as The Lowell’s Most Valuable Player. Never a prolific scorer, Mock made his biggest impact on the other side of the ball. “I focus mainly on defense and play hard all the time,” Mock said.

One of the two team captains, Mock led his young team to the title in the ultra-competitive AAA. His selfless philosophy set the attitude for the rest of team. In the championship game, the Cardinals’ passing game was one of the key factors in their win.

Clay put it best: “He’s a leader, an inspiration and a baller.”