Spartans get redemption
Fourth-quarter surge lifts St. Charles boys over Thomas Stone; Cougars girls win again
The St. Charles boys basketball team had some extra motivation against Thomas Stone.
The Spartans, which suffered a 52-51 setback to the Cougars on the road Jan. 11, got itself a little payback in Friday night’s Southern Maryland Athletic Conference Potomac Division rematch with a 62-46 home victory.
In what a was a game of runs throughout, the score was tied at 40 after three quarters, but it was all St. Charles in the fourth as it exploded on an 18-0 run in the first 6 1/2 minutes to put the game away.
Stone was held to just two field goals in the fourth as the Spartans turned Stone turnovers into easy transition points.
St. Charles is scheduled to take on host McDonough in a division matchup at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday.
St. Charles (13-5, 5-3 SMAC Potomac), which won its fourth straight victory on Friday, pushed the streak to five after Saturday’s 59-52 over the Patuxent Panthers in a nondivision contest in Lusby to make up a Jan. 21 postponement.
“We’ve been preaching energy and the guys have been working hard this offseason and it shows when you play four quarters,” St. Charles head coach Brett Campbell after Friday night’s win. “The way the game ended last time we played Stone made the guys more motivat- ed and now we have our heads on straight.”
With Stone leading by one point at halftime in Friday’s affair, St. Charles opened the first two minutes of the third quarter on a 9-2 run capped by a layup by senior guard Shiloh Beale to go up 32-26.
Stone (12-7, 4-5 after a 79-54 win over Surrattsville of Prince George’s County on Monday night) came right back with a 9-0 run of its own to retake the lead 35-32 at the 3-minute 56-second mark, spurred by five straight points from junior swingman Kamau Mitchell and back-toback baskets by sophomore forward Gary Grant (13 points).
For the rest of the quarter, the two teams traded baskets as the score was knotted entering the fourth.
Beale, who led all scorers with 21 points, including 14 in the second half, scored nine in the third.
“Coming into the second half I had to come out more aggressive in order for the team to be successful and that’s what I did,” said Beale, who grabbed seven rebounds and had two assists.
Mitchell delivered with 10 of his team-high 16 points to spear- head the Cougars, but did not score in the fourth as he fouled out the game with 2:21 remain- ing in the game.
Stone jumped out to an 8-1 lead midway in the first quarter, but the Spartans later came to within 11-10 on a three-pointer by senior Derrick Carter, who finished with seven points off the bench. Stone went on to lead 13-12 after one.
“The first time we played Stone that game stuck with us and this time we came out with more intensity and rebounded better because they killed us on the boards last time,” Car- ter said. “We played with more toughness and tonight we came out on top.”
Seniors Merwan Mourtaj and Cameron Sullivan contribut- ed with nine points each in the Spartans victory.
The win in the first meeting over St. Charles started an even- tual four-game win streak for Stone, but Friday marked the third straight loss for the Cougars, who are scheduled to host La Plata at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday.
“No excuses, [St. Charles] simply outplayed us on the inside and the outside,” Stone head coach Dale Lamberth said. “They got all the loose balls, crashed for the rebound and did everything they needed to do to win the game. We just have to keep on plugging away, I thought we were competitive, but I couldn’t find to many good things that came out of this game.”
Stone girls edge St. Charles
The Cougars were able to hold on for a 69-65 home victory on Friday night despite a huge second-half rally from the Spartans.
Stone (14-4, 8-1) took a 24-6 lead at the end of one quarter and went up 41-21 at halftime. St. Charles outscored Stone 44-28 in the second half, but it wasn’t enough as the Cougars were able to come out on top with only six players in uniform.
Stone shot 25 of 34 (74 per- cent) from the field for the game, while St. Charles made 29 of 58 (50 percent).
Stone senior guard Rya Nel- son led all scorers with 31 points, and seniors guard Mi- kayla Proctor and Octavia Haw- kins finished with 19 and 10 points, respectively.
Nelson went 10 of 13 (77 per- cent) from the field and made 11 of 16 (69 percent) from the foul line.
St. Charles junior guard Desirae Shepard finished with 28 points, nailing four of the team’s five threes on the night. Sophomore Aysia Jones finished with 12 points and junior Shaniquwa Jackson added 11 points.
The Cougars were 18 of 24 (75 percent) from the free-throw line in the contest. St. Charles made just 2 of 15 (13 percent).
The Spartans (8-10, 3-5) dominated the boards, outrebounding Stone 55-20 in the game. St. Charles, which is scheduled to host McDonough at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, committed 14 turnovers to just the Cougars three for the game.