By Varun Shankar March 11, 2023 at 10:50 p.m. EST

A late Meade foul sent Parkville to the free throw line to extend an already impenetrable lead Saturday night. The senior forward stood at midcourt, looking to the Xfinity Center rafters as Knights players high-fived and chest-bumped around him. After the buzzer, he joined fellow senior Xavion Roberson and Coach Mike Glick for a hug before they entered one of their final huddles together.

Jones led all scorers with 25 points, but it wasn’t enough. The Meade boys’ basketball team achieved two of its three goals — securing county and region titles — but lost in the Maryland 4A state championship to Parkville, 72-56.

The senior’s efforts featured six blocks, including one with under three minutes left as he smacked away what looked like a wide-open Knights layup. But the ensuing fast break turned into an air-balled three, and the Mustangs’ deficit remained too steep to overcome.

“We had an incredible season,” Jones said. “ … It’s not the outcome that we wanted, but we always just want to keep our heads up and move forward.”

The loss concluded Glick’s 30th season as a high school head coach. He has spent 17 of those at public schools and led squads to the state semifinals six times. He has never won a state title, with five losses in the final four and now two in the championship game.

“Oh, my God. You kidding me?” Glick said before the game when asked what the achievement would mean to him. “It would be maybe one of the crowning achievements of my coaching career, personally. . . . It’s been elusive.”

His previous appearance in the semifinals came last year when Meade lost to Churchill after blowing a 14-point lead. The Mustangs (24-4) seemingly made up for that defeat this year by beating Sherwood in the semis, quelling a pair of comeback attempts in the process.

The season started with an 18-1 run before back-to-back losses to Broadneck and South River prompted internal reexamination. Meade recovered, beating Broadneck in the Anne Arundel County championship game before galloping through the region for another title.

It looked as though the final goal might be reached, with Jones scoring to put the Mustangs up by three at halftime. He scored again exiting the break, dunking to extend the lead to five. But Parkville (27-1) swung the game in its favor and ended the third quarter ahead by six.

“We’re devastated right now,” Glick said. “I’m a little bit older than the guys with me; I think everybody will look back on this when they become older, and I think they’ll realize the incredible journey that we had.”