Williams comes to rescue for Ridley, twice, in OT win over Upper Darby

RIDLEY — Down three points with 14.4 seconds left in regulation Tuesday night, there was no doubt as to whose hands Ridley would find with the ball on the inbounds pass.

Trailing by one with 13.1 seconds left in overtime — then again after an offensive rebound with 3.2 seconds left — the intended destination for Upper Darby was far less certain.

That difference, in the hot hand Ridley could rely on and the absence of one for Upper Darby, spelled the difference.

Malachi Williams, who tied the game late in regulation with a left-handed runner off glass, won it in overtime by banking home a 3-pointer as Ridley topped the Royals, 64-62, in a wild Central League opener for both teams.

There was no question that Williams would find the ball when Ridley inbounded it late in regulation, trailing 54-52. He came off a screen behind the arc and made a bee line for the hoop, getting his lay-in to go behind the outstretched arms of two help defenders.

“Our game plan was to just get it in and for me to read something,” Williams said. “I didn’t see it there, and I came through an elevator screen and nothing was there. And I saw them pressing up trying to deny the ball, so I cut back door and had the layup there.”

In a back-and-forth OT session, Williams had the final say. Down two with less than a minute left, forward Ryan Cantwell turned from the free throw line and shoveled a pass to Williams, who banked home his left-handed shot for a 60-59 lead.

It capped a magnificent individual day for Williams, the senior point guard pairing 22 points with 12 rebounds, three steals and three assists. He dragged the Green Raiders (2-0, 1-0) back into contention with 10 points in the third quarter.

“It’s different because I’ve never been a leading scorer on a team,” Williams said. “But I’m starting to get used to it. I think I’ll be able to do it well.”

Upper Darby (2-1, 0-1) had plenty of chances to win the game, beyond the two inbounds chances late in overtime and a Shareef Jones 3-point try at the end of regulation that missed the rim entirely. The Royals were 10-for-20 from the line — including two misses from AJ Tucker in the final minute of regulation that would’ve put them up five, and two off and-1s in OT, one by Walker and one by CJ Dabbs, after he’d hit a runner to get within 62-61 with 13 ticks left.

Or then there was the fact that Ridley spotted the Royals 13 points to start the game. Both teams played to type: Upper Darby as the team that won two games last weekend at the William Tennent Tip-Off; Ridley as the one who’d earned a forfeit win when Esperanza didn’t show.

Ridley didn’t get on the board until Josh Hagan’s put-back with 2:32 left in the first. Before that, their offense didn’t look likely to ever put a point on the board.

Howard led the way with four first-half 3-pointers. He drained five looks from deep and hit 5 of 6 free throws when the Royals fouled him beyond the arc, tallying 20 points.

“I’ve got to take the shots that I see,” said Howard, a senior Howard. “I saw they were playing off of me, and I shot and I made my shots.”

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Ridley’s Malachi Williams, with the ball, in action against Upper Darby last season, hit a 3-pointer in overtime to give the Green Raiders a 64-62 decision over the Royals Tuesday night. (Pete Bannan/MediaNews Group)