Warriors roll to 19th straight triumph
Havre de Grace boys rout Elkton; Western Tech’s Manning hits milestone
The Havre de Grace boys basketball team won its 19th straight game Thursday night and it was a bit easier than many might have expected.
The Warriors (19-0, 13-0 Upper Chesapeake) jumped ahead of visiting Elkton (15-3, 9-2) with a big first quarter and never really looked back, winning big, 74-56. The win clinched the UCBAC Susquehanna Division title for the Warriors, who needed a buzzer-beater to beat Elkton in January.
Junior guard Josiah Scott lit the fire the Warriors needed to get going. Scott (teamhigh 19 points) drained three, three-point shots in the quarter and finished with 13 in a. 24-point first quarter.
"It wasn’t so much me, it was all my teammates encouraging me to shoot,” Scott said. “I was just finding the right spots, because any given night, we’re so unpredictable, we could have anybody be the person that night.”
CENTENNIAL 64, HOWARD 60: Centennial boys basketball first built a 14-point second-half lead, then went down multiple times in the fourth quarter and finally — thanks to a pair of difficult shots from senior guard Matt Merkey in the final 90 seconds — pulled out a victory at Howard.
Joey Sedlacko closed out the game with four free throws, helping Centennial (9-5 Howard County, 11-8 overall) bounce back from Wednesday’s two-point defeat against Reservoir. Stafford Smith led the Eagles with 20 points, while Sedlacko (13 points) and Ryan Hollwedel (10 points) also finished in double figures.
For Howard(1-11, 5-13), the close loss marks its third-straight against a quality opponent. Junior guards Justin Hendricks and Darrion Harris led the Lions with 20 and 16 points, respectively.
—Kyle Stackpole,
Baltimore Sun Media Group
NO. 10 ATHOLTON 73, LONG REACH 60: The visiting Raiders (17-2) took a 26-7 lead in the first quarter and rolled past the Lightning (5-15). Jordan Oates had 16 points for Atholton.
NO. 15 OAKLANDMILLS 72, MARRIOTTS RIDGE51: Brandon Held had a game-high 20 points, but the visiting Mustangs (7-7) fell to the Scorpions (15-4). Daeshawn Eaton and Truth Norton each had13 points for Oakland Mills.
ARCHBISHOP SPALDING 71, JOHN CARROLL 57: Tyson Commander scored 22 points, but the Patriots (5-22, 3-12 Maryland Interscholastic Athletic Association A Conference Black Division) fell to the host Cavaliers (3-21, 1-14).
NO. 1 PATTERSON AT 7 LAKE CLIFTON, PPD.: Thursday’s highly anticipated game between the Clippers and host Lakers was postponed because no referees were assigned.
The game, which was originally scheduled for Jan. 22 but was postponed then because of a water main break near the school, is now set to be played on Saturday, Feb. 23 at 2 p.m. The junior varsity game will be played first at noon.
The visiting Clippers, who took over the area’s No. 1 ranking this week with a 16-3 mark, will next host Mervo Saturday at 1:30 p.m. They have already clinched Baltimore City’s A Division to earn a berth in Thursday’s City championship game against B Division winner Edmondson. Game time is set for 7 p.m. at Morgan State.
The No. 7 Lakers (16-3) will host Southwestern on Friday with game time set for 5:15 p.m.
—Glenn Graham