City brings max pressure at Dunbar, remains undefeated
Still undefeated entering the last couple weeks of the regular season, City boys basketball has shown a knack for precisely executing a given game plan.
On Tuesday at Dunbar, the No. 4 Knights believed they could put their superior size advantage and experience to good use against the No. 9 Poets.
The visitors did so right from the start. With overwhelming pressure on defense and a relentless attack of the basket on offense, City took a fast double-digit advantage and made quick work of Dunbar with a 80-57 win in Baltimore City’s Division B play.
The Knights improved to 19-0 overall and 6-0 in division play, setting up next week’s showdown against No. 5 Lake Clifton (15-3, 6-0) to determine a berth in the Baltimore City title game, held Feb. 21 at Morgan State. Dunbar, which fell at Lake Clifton, 68-34 on Friday, is 14-5 and 4-2 in the division.
In Tuesday’s balanced effort, the Knights got 21 points each from Camerin Horton and Kyree Smith with Danny Parsons adding 17. With City leading 19-8 after the first quarter, the trio combined to score 23 points in a second quarter that helped build an insurmountable 44-17 halftime lead.
“We knew it was going to be a tough game, a gutsy fight,” Horton said. “So we wanted to come out fast, play hard and stay composed the whole game — ride the highs and lows and never get too high or too low.”
During the game’s pivotal moments, the Knights came out on top.
Their trapping defense forced turnovers and they took the ball straight to the basket. In the first quarter, their drives to the rim led to 16 free throws.
The second quarter featured more tough defense and points in transition and behind the 3-point line.
Parsons opened the quarter with a three, Smith ended it with one and dunks off fast breaks by Horton and Parsons came in between.
“We watched film, prepared and watched [Dunbar] against Lake and saw that Lake’s pressure bothered them and that’s our game — pressure and get up in their face — so that was the message,” City coach Omarr Smith said. “It was something we practiced on the last couple days, so pregame we just talked about doing what we worked on.”
Just past the midway point of the third quarter, City’s lead ballooned to 61-25, which prompted a running clock with the advantage more than 35 points. To the Poets’ credit, they kept playing hard and, at one point, made up 15 points with a 17-2 run. Otis Toney scored 13 points and Gary Suite and Tony Hart both finished with 12.
Dunbar coach Dana Johnson was quick to give the Knights credit for their disruptive defense that set the tone. She was pleased to see her Poets settle in for a better second half.
“Their length is real, so their pressure and traps really got to us. But, in the second half, we relaxed a little bit and started playing our game,” Johnson said. “We showed some composure, took care of the ball and took what they gave us.”
The Knights will host Charles County power Thomas Stone at 3 p.m. Saturday to prime for next Tuesday’s home showdown against defending Baltimore City and Class 1A state champion Lake Clifton at 5:15 p.m.
“That’s going to be a dogfight,” Horton said. “They got some guys and we got some guys, too, so if we just stay composed and stay the course and do what we got to do, we’ll come out with the win.”
Other boys basketball scores
C. Milton Wright 58, Harford Tech 44: C. Milton Wright first-year coach Mario Scott had a fairly straightforward game plan coming into Tuesday’s road matchup against Harford Tech. He wanted to control the pace by slowing down his opponent and limiting second-chance points.
He tossed that strategy aside fairly quickly, turning the game on its head.
The Mustangs fell behind early but rallied to take the lead late in the second quarter and hold on for a 58-44 win.
“I told the guys, ‘I don’t want to take you out of rhythm, so if you can beat somebody, beat them. Just make a good decision,’ ” Scott said. “Even though we had to play a little bit faster than I would’ve liked, I thought [point guard Larry Thompson] made some really good decisions and put guys in really good spots.”
— Sam Cohn
Havre de Grace 58, Joppatowne 50: Kendall Pollock scored 13 points and Damien Brooks added 12, but the visiting Mariners fell to the Warriors. Havre de Grace led 28-14 in the first half.
Glen Burnie 70, Annapolis 57: John Mallory scored 16 points to lead the visiting Gophers (11-7, 8-3 Anne Arundel County) over the Panthers. Eric Daniels had 12 points and 10 rebounds and Jordan Canoles had 11 points for Glen Burnie. Darrian Carter scored a game-high 28 points for Annapolis.
Fallston 66, Bohemia Manor 40: Oliver Rueckert had 20 points and 10 rebounds to lead the visiting Cougars past the Eagles. Dylan Kreis had 14 points and Evan Alcide and Max Rueckert led the Fallston defense, which had eight steals and forced several turnovers.
Arundel 75, Crofton 35: Noah Frayer scored 15 points and Kofi Duro and Avery Struve each added 11 to lead the host Wildcats over the Cardinals.
Century 62, South Carroll 59: The Knights edged the Cavaliers as Andrew Marcinko led the way with 21 points. Ben Chenowith backed him with 18. Owen Scott scored a game-high 26 points to lead South Carroll.
Girls basketball
Southern 57, Northeast 43: Ava Wooster scored a career-high 40 points and added 26 rebounds to lead the host Bulldogs over the Eagles. Lia Huggins had 12 rebounds and five assists for Southern. Cait Cornwall scored 13 points for Northeast.
South Carroll 45, Century 41: Mia Graff scored 18 points, but the host Knights (10-9, 4-7 Carroll County) fell to the Cavaliers. Harli Hamlett scored 13 points and Mackenzie Mowder added eight for South Carroll.
Wrestling
Annapolis 39, Old Mill 32: You could say Annapolis wrestling’s first-round playoff upset over Old Mill began at 120 pounds, but you’d be wrong.
It certainly mattered that the No. 5 seed Panthers claimed six straight wins from 120 to 160. But the vital push in the later matches of the Class 4A East Region duals tournament, a grit that crumbled in the previous meeting with the No. 4 seed Patriots, was the true catalyst.
The Panthers cemented their 39-32 region quarterfinal rally with wins and losses: a comeback decision at 195 while only giving up three points at 182 instead of a pin. That’s what Annapolis coach Tom Sfakiyanudis stressed to his wrestlers beforehand: everyone has a job. For some, it’s to pin. For others, it’s to not get pinned.
“It comes down to heart,” Sfakiyanudis said. “To the hard work we put in the room, and knowing what your team needs.”
— Katherine Fominykh
Milford Mill 60, Lansdowne 24: Lansdowne wrestling’s Glenn Lail won the first match of the night at 106 pounds, but Milford Mill erupted with seven pins and cruised to a 60-24 victory in the Class 2A North Region dual quarterfinals.
The Millers (11-4) got pins from Kendall Owens (113 pounds), Camari Gilliam (120), Kamauri Jones (132), Ethan Royster (160), Chris Bristow (171), Chase McNeil (195) and Michael Sydnor (220).
Milford also got a victory from Xavier
Mackell (126) because of a dangerous move and forfeit victories from David Diggs (138) and Braylin Inabinet (182).
In addition to Lail, Lansdowne (6-7) got pins from Sean Lippman (145) and freshman Chase Swiger (152) and a forfeit win from Anthony Nguyen (285).
— Craig Clary
Glenelg 43, Oakland Mills 31: Glenelg freshmen Phil Key and Jonathan Sexton knew it was possible Tuesday night’s wrestling match could come down to them.
With the match tied at 31 and a spot in the Class 2A West regional semifinal on the line, both freshmen stepped up in the final two weight classes at 106 and 113 pounds, respectively. Key and Sexton executed back-to-back pins, closing out the No. 4 seed Gladiators’ 43-31 regional quarterfinal victory over No. 5 seed Oakland Mills.
Glenelg advances to Thursday’s regional semifinals at Hammond.
“We have a lot of confidence in them,” Glenelg coach Matt Bichner said of Key and Sexton. “They’re some of our hardest workers, they work really hard with each other. We know they’re willing to put the effort in to get it done.”
— Jacob Steinberg
Manchester Valley 63, Winters Mill 9: Manchester Valley wrestling did a little bit of everything Tuesday night. The Mavericks saw one match go into overtime, a couple matches end in under a minute and even saw a brother vs. brother matchup go their way.
When it was all said and done, Manchester Valley clinched a berth in the Class 2A West Region semifinals after defeating Winters Mill, 63-9.
“We came in knowing that we needed to wrestle a clean night,” coach David Dodson said. “Now it’s time to build toward Thursday.”