Perry Hall slips past Catonsville
Perry Hall boys basketball trailed by four after Catonsville’s Mike Owens made a pair of free throws with 1:08 remaining in the fourth quarter, but the Gators scored the final seven points for a 63-60 victory over the host Comets on Wednesday.
The rally began after starting point guard Jacob Jacks left the game because he had blood on his arm. Perry Hall coach Joe Carlineo substituted Zion Gross, who knocked down a 3-pointer with 52 seconds left to pull the Gators within one.
A backcourt violation with 42 seconds left gave Perry Hall a chance and senior sharpshooter Stefan Macakanja made his eighth 3-pointer of the game to give the Gators a 62-60 lead. Perry Hall forced another turnover and a free throw by Gross closed the scoring. An off-balance 3-point attempt by Catonsville’s Colin Harshman caromed off the front of the rim.
“I had to come up clutch for my team,” said Macakanja, who finished with a careerhigh 31 points. “They relied on me and I had to put them on my back.”
Macakanja was the only Gator in double figures. Harshman (19 points), Owens (17) and Trey Gould (15) led the Comets.
While Macakanja’s long-range attempt was expected, Gross’ was not, considering he only played briefly in the second quarter.
“All kids like to shoot and he’s a good foul shooter, so we wanted him in the mix in the end,” Carlineo said. “He’s shooting about 72% from the foul line this year, so at the end we wanted him in there.”
“[Gross] came up clutch and I rely on my players and I have a lot of trust in them,” said Macakanja, who wanted the ball on the next possession after nailing four 3-pointers in the third quarter and one earlier in the fourth. “We were just thinking like, get the best shot possible, but I was on fire, so I had to shoot it.”
Aaron Mekonen cut the lead to 53-51 before Macakanja’s three with 2:35 left appeared to be a back-breaker for the Comets.
But they showed no quit. Harshman hit a short jumper and two free throws and Gould’s steal and three-point play gave the Comets a 58-56 lead with 1:30 left. Gould added two free throws 22 seconds later, but it was the last of the scoring for the hosts.
“There were spurts in the game where we were doing a good job, but at the end of the day it comes down to consistency,” said Harris, whose Comets have lost three straight and are 8-5 overall. “We can’t get too high, we can’t get too low, we’ve got to be aware of who their key guy is all the time and we can’t let our foot off the gas for one second.”
Other boys basketball scores
Dulaney 66, Pikesville 49: Leading by just five points heading into the fourth quarter, Dulaney saved its best for last and pulled away with the 66-49 road victory at Pikesville.
“This was a big-time game for both teams,” Dulaney coach Matt Lochte said. “They’re playing for a one or two-seed in their region, we’re playing for a two-seed in our region … this is a huge game for both of us, and so we both knew how important this was for us tonight.”
The Lions outscored the Panthers 22-10 in the final eight minutes to pull off the 17-point victory and improve to 14-4 on the year. Dulaney went 14-for-15 from the free-throw line, including 5-for-5 in the fourth quarter. The team shot nearly 50% from 3-point range, knocking down 6 of 13 attempts.
“To be honest, I feel good about it, but like coach said, there’s multiple things we can work on like our defense and talking,” senior Jamariez Corley-Scott said. “I feel like if we talk more [on defense] then we’ll be able to execute way better than we did today. But we got the job done and that’s all that matters.”
Junior forward Ezra Tull led the Lions with 15 points, while Corley-Scott (12 points), junior guard Paul Gross (11), and senior guard Eric Zhang (10) also scored in
double figures.
— Ben Heck
River Hill 62, Glenelg 41: River Hill typically plays at a more methodical pace, much like Glenelg. However, at halftime of Wednesday night’s game, Hawks coach Matt Graves told his players he wanted them to play faster.
He encouraged the Hawks to use their athleticism to push the pace in transition and cause havoc for the Gladiators’ zone defense. Following their coach’s words, River Hill executed a big third-quarter run to break the game open en route to a 62-41 victory, ending Glenelg’s four-game winning streak.
River Hill’s defense caused several Gladiators turnovers, leading to fast-break opportunities. Aiden Igwebe capitalized on those mistakes with 16 points, including a thunderous dunk that electrified the home crowd.
“I just came out with a lot of energy coming into the second half,” Igwebe said. “Coach had a good speech at halftime, so I just came out with a lot of energy. The crowd was here, so I just had to build some momentum.”
— Jacob Steinberg
John Carroll 68, McDonogh 54
Howard 52, Oakland Mills 48
Wilde Lake 68, Centennial 59
Long Reach 82, Marriotts Ridge 50 Reservoir 56, Atholton 48
Mt. Hebron 67, Hammond 53
Severn 66, Gerstell 60, OT
Southern 49, CMIT South 37
Aberdeen 112, Fallston 72
Chapelgate Christian 56, Annapolis Area Christian 52
Girls basketball
Manchester Valley 50, Century 15: With a 50-15 win against Century on senior night, the Mavericks not only honored their seniors with a victory but provided a glimpse of what the program’s future might look like.
Senior or not, the ball was finding everyone on the Mavericks’ roster. Led as always by a stingy defense that pressures opponents to turn the ball over, Manchester Valley jumped out with a 10-2 run to immediately take control of the game.
“Tonight was just all about our seniors,” Emma Penczek said. “Our seniors got to play and they played amazing, they all play a big role.”
The team’s leading scorer, senior Carmaya Bowman, played a slightly different role. With her shot not falling in the first half, she impacted the game in other ways by securing rebounds, blocking shots and intercepting passes.
Though she didn’t reach her normal scoring numbers until late in the game, the senior finished with 10 points, 15 rebounds and five steals. Bowman did what she has done her entire Manchester Valley career: make winning basketball plays.
“We don’t make every shot we take,” coach Heather DeWees said. “But for her, if she’s rebounding, playing defense and making good passes, we’re gonna win with those little things.”
— Timothy Dashiell
Sparrows Point 47, Dundalk 29 Hereford 76, Milford Mill 44
Francis Scott Key 48, Westminster 40 Gerstell 57, Friends 48
Howard 61, Oakland Mills 27 Hammond 46, Mt. Hebron 27
River Hill 41, Glenelg 38
Marriotts Ridge 44, Long Reach 33 Loch Raven 73, Parkville 25
Carver A&T 41, Patapsco 22
Wrestling
Annapolis 42, Arundel 39