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For the first time in 41 years, Landon is the outright Interstate Athletic Conference basketball champion.

The end of the Bears' four-decade wait did not come easily, however. They needed eight additional minutes to defeat third-seeded Episcopal, 73-71, in double overtime in Saturday's IAC Tournament final at St. Stephen's/St. Agnes (Va.).

"The last time we shared [the title] was in '95, so this is new territory for our program," Landon coach Andy Luther said. "These guys have just climbed a mountain this year. I couldn't be more proud of them."

Landon, the regular-season champion, had earned at least a share of the overall title just by reaching the final. The win means it is the undisputed champion of the league.

The Bears (18-5) withstood two late near misses by Maroon senior guard Given Kalipinde (33 points). First, his fastbreak layup attempt at the end of regulation rimmed out, sending the game to overtime.

Then, with Landon up two in the final seconds, Kalipinde had his initial drive stopped by some timely help defense. He backed up and fired a 3-pointer over Landon senior Christian Webster, but the attempt clanked off the front of the rim just before the final buzzer sounded.

"My stomach's in my throat every time he shoots threes," Luther said. "He's so good. He's the best athlete we've seen in a long time."

The performance of Kalipinde's counterpart, Webster, will probably haunt the Maroon for days to come. The 6-foot-4 Division I prospect practically willed his team to victory, matching Kalipinde's 33 points, including 10 of Landon's 19 in the two overtimes.

He did so mainly on pull-up jumpers with a defender draped on him, or with spinning drives to the hoop that drew multiple defenders and usually contact.

"All the hard work, the last four years, it's paid off," said an emotional Webster.

Luther added: "No one could stop him and he just had that killer instinct. It was his tournament to win and he kept taking it to the basket that way. Everybody rallied around him."

Landon received other clutch performances, as well. Freshman point guard Joe McDonald had 12 points, including a free throw with 27.4 seconds left for what proved to be the winning margin.

Sophomore center Darion Atkins (seven rebounds, five blocks) scored four of his nine points in the final 2 minutes of the second overtime, including a soaring tip-in of a Webster miss. He then put in a pair of free throws with 49.8 seconds left for a 72-68 advantage.

Landon opened up a 20-11 lead after one quarter on the strength of two 3-pointers by Danny Rubin (10 points) and eight early points from Webster. That advantage climbed to as much as 13, 24-11, in the second quarter before a 17-9 run by Episcopal trimmed the deficit to 32-28 by halftime. The game remained close the rest of the way.

"We've been working since the summer for just this one thing," Rubin said. "It means a lot."

Prep takes third

Led by 18 points from junior guard Markel Starks, second-seeded Georgetown Prep rebounded from Friday's loss to Episcopal to crush host St. Stephen's/St. Agnes, 70-54, in the consolation game. Bullis (10-14) placed fifth in the tournament with a 57-49 win over St. Albans behind 13 points from Tex McClinton and 11 from Robert McPherson.