After back-to-back losses, McDonogh School boys basketball’s positive momentum appeared to hit a snag.

On Friday evening the 13th, the Eagles got back on track. No. 9 McDonogh defeated sixth-ranked Loyola Blakefield, 67-65, in a spirited MIAA A Conference contest in Owings Mills.

Junior guard Ashton Kendall’s 3-pointer with six seconds left in regulation was the difference for the Eagles. Kendall led the Eagles (12-7 overall, 3-3 MIAA A Black) with 20 points and sophomore Jeff Exinor added 15.

McDonogh, which went 5-23 last season, posted road victories at No. 4 Mount Carmel and 10th-ranked Archbishop Spalding last week to debut in this week’s Baltimore Banner/VSN Top 15. Monday, the Eagles lost at No. 1 Mount St. Joseph (92-60) and Calvert Hall pulled away late for a 19-point victory Wednesday on McDonogh’s home court.

The Eagles rebounded nicely with their third victory over a Top 10 team in the last two weeks.

“We’re still a young team and piecing things together,” said Kendall. “At the end of the day, we’re hungry and want to win.”

McDonogh coach Gerald Abrams said he didn’t have on-court practice Thursday.

“We didn’t even touch the court…we came in here and watch that game (Calvert Hall) and the two games with Loyola from last season and did a walk-through in street clothes,” said Abrams. “They were locked in and we told them to stay the course. They came out and played the way we played in New York and against Spalding and Mount Carmel.”

In a final eight-minute stanza featuring four ties and five lead changes, Kendall got a pass from teammate Matthai Paul-Swinson in the corner and buried a 3-pointer, giving McDonogh a 67-64 advantage.

It was Kendall’s five trifecta of the evening.

“I just sat in the corner and knew Tai (Paul-Swinson) was going to make something happen…it felt good going off my fingers,” said Kendall. “Just feeling the energy of the student section after I hit the shot was amazing.”

The Eagles fouled Loyola’s Jordan Hammond with 1.9 seconds left. Hammond converted the front end of the one-and-one, and Loyola called timeout to setup an intentional miss and final shot opportunity.

Hammond’s second attempt hit perfectly off the back rim. The ball was deflected to Dons guard Ryder Drew, whose 10-foot shot hit the side of the rim as time expired.

J’Lin Brown had a game-high 21 points for Loyola (8-4, 4-3 MIAA A Black) and Drew and Mason Ellison each finished with 14. Leading 34-33 at halftime, the Dons opened up a six-point advantage, 41-35, early in the third on a Brown’s 3-pointer.

The Eagles went on a 10-3 spurt, capped byEphraim Couplin’s 3-pointer, to gain a 45-44 advantage late in the third. Loyola closed out the quarter strong as Brown’s follow-up gave it a 51-47 lead.

Kendall regained the lead for the Eagles, 52-51, dropping a deep 3-pointer in the opening minute of the fourth. The Dons got their final lead, 62-60, on a Brown pull-up jumper with 2:07 left in regulation.

Loyola had an opportunity to force overtime, but came up short on the final shot in regulation.

“They made plays at the end of the game. It was one of those see-saw A Conference games…they’re pretty good and we’re pretty good,” said Dons coach Josh Davalli, whose team’s four-game win streak was snapped. “They have some good size so rebounding and being fundamental on box outs was going to be important and I think that fails us tonight. We weren’t consistent.”

NO. 9 MCDONOGH 67, NO. 6 LOYOLA BLAKEFIELD 65

Loyola - Brown 21, Drew 14, Ellison 14, Hammond 8, Elliott 3, Battle-Olley 2, Navarre 2, Nottingham 1. Totals 23 12-18 65.

McDonogh - Kendall 20, Exinor 15, Fields 13, Robinson 9, Couplin 5, Paul-Swinson 5. Totals 19 18-23 67.

Loyola 18 16 17 14 - 65

McDonogh 16 17 14 20 - 67