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The last time the Bishop McNamara High School boys' basketball team won the Rock Summer League title was in 1994. The Mustangs followed that championship with a Washington Catholic Athletic Conference crown and a D.C. City Title in the 1994-95 season.

McNamara is hoping history repeats itself in 2011.

The Mustangs withstood a furious DeMatha rally to win the Rock League title game, 56-55, on Tuesday evening at High Point High School in Beltsville. DeMatha's Jerami Grant released a would-be game-winning 3-pointer at the buzzer, but the shot rattled off the rim, sealing the victory for the Mustangs.

"Everyone knows that the Rock League is one of the top summer leagues and some of the best teams from the area come here," said McNamara summer league coach Koran Godwin. "This was a great opportunity and a great game for us. DeMatha is one of the best teams around and we played hard."

It looked like the Mustangs were going to roll to the summer league crown. Senior Marcus Thornton couldn't miss in the first half, as he scored 18 points before the break. As a team, DeMatha scored just 22 points in the first half, and DeMatha trailed by 11.

DeMatha cut McNamara's lead to 35-29 at the start of the second half. McNamara answered with a 14-3 run and looked to be in total control. But the Stags made a furious run in the game's final minutes and had two chances to tie or win the game.

DeMatha trailed 56-55 when Mikael Hopkins was fouled with 7.8 seconds remaining, but he missed the front end of a one-and-one. McNamara's Callon Daily was fouled as he pulled down the rebound, but missed both of his free throws.

DeMatha rushed the ball down the court, and Grant buried an apparent 3-pointer, but the shot didn't count because DeMatha summer league coach Reggie Veney had called a time out with 1 second remaining. After the time out, Grant missed the final shot, and the Mustangs celebrated.

"This is only my second year at McNamara, but I have heard stories about the tough losses in this rivalry," Godwin said. "I thought it was going to happen again when he [Grant] hit that shot, but [Veney] called a time out. I just thanked God when the final shot didn't go in. These are the types of games you live for as a coach and player."

Thornton was guarding Grant as the final shot went off the rim. McNamara's shooting guard followed his stellar first half with just four points in the second half to finish with 22. He said DeMatha did a better job of following him off of screens and contesting his shots in the second half.

"When the first couple of shots went in I was like, ‘why stop shooting now?'" he said. "Everything was falling for us and the basket just seemed big. They definitely clamped down more in the second half, but I didn't need to shoot as much because my teammates stepped up."

Tyler Shipe added 11 points for the Mustangs, while Daily and D.J. Nedab each scored five.

Jairus Lyles led the DeMatha rally with 14 of his 16 points coming in the second half. James Robinson scored 15 points, while Marcellous Bell chipped in eight.

"We are never going to quit, but the fact that we waited until the final minutes of the game to start playing really hurts," Veney said. "You can't spot a team in our league 18 points and expect to come back and win. We did a great job of fighting back, but we should have never been down that much."

E-mail Joshua Hudson at jhudson@gazette.net.