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Baltimore Area News

January - February 2002

Officially in the Loop, Dragons Claim Title

Galloway Scores 19, Named Tourney MVP: Notre Dame 66, National Christian 61

By Jon Gallo
Washington Post Staff Writer
Tuesday, February 26, 2002; Page D06

Two of Notre Dame Academy's goals entering this season were to claim the Beltway League Tournament title and the Virginia Independent School League championship.

Photo: Notre Dame's Gordan Johnson, left, and Daevon Haskins, right, celebrate after a 66-61 victory over National Christian on Monday night. (Joel Richardson - The Washington Post

Notre Dame's Gordan Johnson, left, and Daevon Haskins, right, celebrate after a 66-61 victory over National Christian on Monday night. (Joel Richardson - The Washington Post)

The 11th-ranked Dragons took care of their first objective by upending No. 9 National Christian, 66-61, in the Beltway championship last night at American University, capping their first season in the conference.

But Notre Dame's celebration was short. After defeating the Eagles (22-6) for the third time this season, the Dragons (24-5) began making preparations for today's VISL first-round opponent, Norfolk Collegiate, in Richmond.

"This was our first year in the Beltway League, so to win it the first year does make it special," said Notre Dame senior guardDaevon Haskins, who finished with 16 points. "Now we want to prove we are the best [private] school team in the state."

Notre Dame's victory ended what has been perhaps its toughest two-week stretch this season. Since Feb. 15, the Dragons have defeated two locally ranked teams -- National Christian (twice) and Montrose Christian -- and lost to No. 2 Thomas Johnson and nationally ranked Oak Hill Academy (Va.).

"If we want to be considered as one of the best teams, then we have to play the best," said Notre Dame senior point guard Todd Galloway, who earned MVP honors after scoring a game-best 19 points.

Last night's outcome was not decided until the final seconds. Leading 47-41 after the third quarter, Notre Dame squandered plenty of chances to put away the game. It was held without a field goal during a five-minute stretch and made only 10 of 27 free throws in the final quarter. National Christian closed to 64-61 on junior guard Lakeith Blanks's three-point-play with 26 seconds remaining.

The Eagles regained possession with 15 seconds left following two missed free throws by Notre Dame. But National Christian's comeback hopes ended when it turned over the ball by dribbling out of bounds with five seconds remaining.

Notre Dame junior forward Gordon Johnson secured the victory by making two free throws with 4.4 seconds left to provide the final margin.

National Christian was led by sophomore center Anthony Ivory and senior guard Charlie Bell, who scored 17 and 14 points, respectively.

Original article found here:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A2326-2002Feb25.html

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Owens Scores 43 To Lead Annapolis

By Heather Dinich
Washington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, February 20, 2002; Page D06

Laronja Owens, left, of Annapolis makes a move toward the basket as Nathan Lewis of Meade defends Tuesday night. (Kevin Clark - TWP)

There is a reason Annapolis remains one of the few undefeated boys' basketball teams in the Washington area -- his name is Laronja Owens.

The junior guard scored a game-high 43 points as the Panthers (23-0) claimed the Anne Arundel County Championship with a 75-57 victory over Meade yesterday at Broadneck High School. It was Annapolis's fourth consecutive county title and Coach John Brady's 20th regular season title in 25 years.

"He's strong as an ox," Brady said of Owens. "He has unbelievable basketball sense, his skills are very good, he has undaunted courage. . . . He's got it all, plus he's a great kid."

In the boys' game, Annapolis notched its 59th straight victory against a county opponent. The last time the Annapolis boys lost a conference game was three years ago -- in the county championship game against Meade.

There was little chance that history would repeat itself yesterday, though, after Owens scored 13 points in the final five minutes of the third period and six more in the opening three minutes of the fourth period, leading Annapolis to a 64-49 lead. He made 11 of 14 free throws in the game.

"I use my instincts to find holes so I can slide through defenders and penetrate," said Owens. "I just came in here to play a good game and come out and win."

Junior forward Josh Johnson had 13 points and 13 rebounds for Annapolis. Senior Louis Benson scored a team-high 23 points for Meade (17-6).

Original article found here:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A36466-2002Feb20.html

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2002 Boys Basketball Tournament

The boys' state basketball tournament is scheduled to be held at the University of Maryland College Park on March 7, 8, and 9.

Semifinal games will feature Class 3A and Class 4A on Thursday, Class 1A and Class 2A on Friday, and the four championship finals on Saturday. Each region will conduct a single elimination tournament to determine the region representative.

To find out more information, use the following links:
http://www.mpssaa.org/sports/tourn/bbb.html
http://www.mpssaa.org/sports/regions/basket.html

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Baltimore Metro Boys Basketball Top 20

Sun Paper 2/19

Douglass (22-0)
Annapolis (22-0)
Randallstown (22-0)
Spalding (25-5)
Dunbar (17-4)
Mt. St. Joe (23-7)
Walbrook (17-5)
Calvert Hall (22-8)
Southern-B (13-6)
Meade (17-5)
McDonogh (17-9)
River Hill (17-4)
South Carroll (17-4)
Mervo (14-8)
Lake Clifton (14-9)
Southern AA (15-7)
St. Paul (17-5)
Long Reach (16-5)
Landsdowne (14-8)
Woodlawn (13-8)

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Maryland Top 25 Boys Basketball Rankings

By: Jide Sodipo
Date: February 12, 2002

Here is this week poll of the Top 25 boy's basketball teams:

Frederick Douglass, Baltimore (20-0)
Oxon Hill High School, Oxon Hill (18-1)
DeMatha, Hyattsville, Md. (23-3)
Dunbar High School, Baltimore (16-3)
Thomas Johnson, Frederick (16-1)
National Christian, Ft. Washington (20-4)
Montrose Christian, Rockville (17-4)
Archbishop Spalding, Severn (23-5)
Annapolis High School, Annapolis (20-0)
Bullis School, Potomac (19-3)
Randallstown High School, Randallstown (20-0)
Gwynn Park, Brandywine (17-1)
Calvert Hall, Towson (21-6)
Parkdale H.S., Riverdale. (16-3)
St. Maria Goretti, Hagerstown (18-9)
Mt. St. Joseph, Baltimore (20-7)
Friendly High School, Ft. Washington. (16-3)
Southern H.S., Baltimore (12-5)
Fairmont Heights, Capitol Heights (8-9)
Walbrook, Baltimore (16-5)
Meade, Ft. Meade. (15-5)
Quince Orchard, Gaithersburg ( )
Lake Clifton, Baltimore (13-8)
Georgetown Prep, Rockville ( )
McDonogh School, Owings Mills. (15-9)

Highly considered:

River Hill/Columbia,
Riverdale Baptist/Upper Marlboro
Mergenthaler/Baltimore
South Carroll/Sykesville

By Jide Sodipo, Maryland Hoop All-Stars

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Brown, #1 Frederick Douglass Too Much for Dunbar

By: Special to DC Hoops: Warren Laminza
Date: February 13, 2002

(from top) Richard Dorsey, Tyler Smith, Gerald Brown and James Taylor

The Bigger the game, the bigger Super junior Gerald Brown proved why is considered one of the best juniors in the state and definitely a national top 100. A game with a capacity crowd against his old school, #4 Dunbar, Baltimore. A school he transferred from two years ago and trying to keep his team, #1 Frederick Douglass undefeated going into the city and state championship. Not more bigger or can be say about that.

Gerald Brown displayed a confident plays regardless of all the distraction which the 6-4 guard easily used to dispatch of Dunbar/Baltimore, 87-72 yesterday at Dunbar.

"It was tough, this being my old school, and a lot of stuff being said by the crowd," said the 6-foot-4 junior, smiling afterward. "I had to block out the people saying I didn't look right in blue and orange [Douglass' school colors]. I had to look off the girls grabbing my uniform when I took the ball out on inbounds passes. It took focus to win here tonight."

In first half, the Ducks other super junior 6-2 Tyler Smith was relegated to the bench for all but 20 seconds in the second quarter. Dunbar pulled to 22-20 early in the second period but was then outscored 18-5 and faced a 40-25 halftime deficit.

Brown wore his game face while scoring 13 of his 22 points in the decisive second period of No. 1 Douglass' 87-72 Baltimore City League victory over the second-ranked Poets. He also had two dunks, six steals, five rebounds and four assists as part of an overall display of team dominance that moved the Ducks to 21-0.

The victory was the biggest for Douglass since defeating Dunbar (15-4) for the city title at Poly in 1996. Douglass will visit Dunbar one week from today for this year's city title game.

"We came to my old home and played like champs," said Douglass coach Rodney Coffield, a 1980 Dunbar graduate. "Dunbar played hard, but we were ready. They told me before the game that they'd get it done."

Coffield praised 6-foot-8 center Richard Dorsey and 6-4 forward Darryl Edwards. Dorsey scored eight of his 16 points in the second period - including two of his three slam-dunks - and registered nine rebounds, five assists and three blocked shots. Edwards scored 10 of his 14 points in the third period, had 11 rebounds and blocked two shots.

Box Scores
Douglass-G. Brown 22, Smith 20, Dorsey 16, Edwards 14, Brooks 7, M. Brown 4, Miles 2, Embry 2. -- Totals 30 20-28 87.

Dunbar-Taylor 22, Robinson 21, York 10, Barksdale 8, Waddy 6, Valentine 2, Frederick 2, Hayes 1. -- Totals 26 14-19 72. Half: Do, 40-25.

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Former Baltimore prep star Keith Jennifer helps in big win for UVA

By HANK KURZ JR.
AP Sports Writer

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. - Keith Jenifer had no reason to feel good about having the ball, and no choice but to try to make a huge play.

The freshman guard made his second chance count Tuesday night, hitting a driving layup as the shot clock ran down and giving No. 15 Virginia the cushion it needed in a 73-63 victory against North Carolina.

"The first time, I picked up my dribble," Jenifer said of a play moments earlier when he found himself trapped with the ball as the shot clock raced toward zero. When he finally tried a lunging shot, it was too late, and the 35-second violation gave the Tar Heels possession.

Keith Jenifer

When Kris Lang's baby hook dropped at the other end, the Cavaliers lead was down to 65-63, and Jenifer once again found himself on the spot.

"The biggest play of the game," Virginia coach Pete Gillen called the drive around Lang. "I told him that he had the courage to take the shot, even if he missed it, he had the guts to drive to the basket. For a freshman, playing against North Carolina, it was a courageous move."

And one that saved Virginia from what would have been a more embarrassing collapse than the nine-point lead they blew against No. 3 Maryland in a 91-87 loss at University Hall just 13 days earlier.

Chris Williams and Roger Mason Jr. each scored 18 points to lead Virginia, and Travis Watson added 17 points and 10 rebounds. Williams also had 10 boards, helping the Cavaliers outrebound the Tar Heels 43-29.

"It was ugly," said Mason, who finally ended a 20-3 run that gave the Tar Heels their first lead by making a 3-pointer with 8:56 remaining. "But we have a `W' in our column and we're going to run with it."

Virginia (16-6, 6-5 Atlantic Coast Conference) won its second straight after a four-game skid that dropped the Cavaliers to their lowest ranking of the season. They also beat the Tar Heels for the third straight time at home, the first time since 1980-82 they've managed to achieve that.

"We've got a lot of work to do," Gillen said. "I think our guys thought the game was over, kinda cruised and went through the motions."

North Carolina (6-16, 2-10) lost its fifth straight and kept alive what could become the worst season in school history. The Tar Heels also lost for the fifth time in the last six meetings with the Cavaliers.

But first, the Tar Heels made things very interesting late.

Virginia led 52-36 after Mason's drive with 14 minutes left, but the Cavaliers scored only once in the next five minutes as North Carolina started clicking, building a 20-3 run with five players contributing.

The last 13 were scored consecutively, and Adam Boone's layup off a steal with 9:23 to go gave the Tar Heels their first lead at 56-55.

But the run proved too much of a good thing for North Carolina, and too soon. Mason immediately followed with a 3-pointer to get the lead back and the Tar Heels didn't score again for more than 5{ minutes, allowing Virginia to open a 63-56 lead that looked like it might be good enough.

"We had a couple of breakdowns," Tar Heels coach Matt Doherty said of the poorly timed drought. "We had some plays set that weren't executed properly. Maybe it's mental fatigue, but they were as tired as we were."

But North Carolina had one more run, getting four points from Jason Capel and three from Lang in a 7-2 run that pulled them to 65-63, setting the stage for Jenifer's driving basket and a clinching dunk by Watson.

Lang led the Tar Heels with 19 points and Capel had 12, although he managed just one field goal in 11 shots. He was 10-for-10 on free throws, helping the Tar Heels outscore Virginia 27-14 from the foul line.

"Our foul shooting kept us in the game," Doherty said.

The Cavaliers led 39-27 at halftime, a margin that had to be disappointing after they started like a team primed for a blowout.

Leading 4-3 after 2 minutes, the Cavaliers went on a 15-0 run over the next 2:17, capping the burst when Mason hit three 3-pointers and Watson added a 10-foot jumper - all in a span of 62 seconds.

That made it 19-3 and had the crowd energized, but Virginia went cold, making just 9 of 22 shots the rest of the half as the Tar Heels pulled as close as 27-20 and used a zone defense to slow the Cavaliers' shooting.

"We were up 12, but it was like fool's gold," Gillen said. "It could easily have been two or three, or even. We were very fortunate to be ahead."

Original article found here:
http://virginiasports.fansonly.com/sports/m-baskbl/recaps/021202aaa.html

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McDonogh pulls away in the second half with an unlikely hero

McDonogh was celebrating Senior Night in this game versus Towson Catholic. Lou Hutt turned out to shine on the day set aside for seniors. Hutt, Jaz Cowan and Joe Bensen are the three loan seniors on this young McDonogh squad.

Matt Stevenson

Hopkins and Cowan

McDonogh came out in the first quarter and struggle within the offense and couldn't get many shots to fall. Hutt finished the first quarter strong with 5 pts. Towson was led by 6'6 junior Matt Stevenson with 4 pts and 6'4 sophomore Jamal Smith had 6 pts helped TC to the lead 14-6 after one quarter. In the second quarter the McDonogh squad pulled ahead and never looked back. Brandon Etheridge came off the bench for Mcdonogh to score 5 pts to put the Eagles in the lead going into halftime, 23-19. Hutt continued his fine play with a key 3-pointer.

In the second half, 6'5 junior Mike Popoko got into the game by scoring 6 pts in the third quarter. Towson just couldn't get back into the game due to excellent play by Cowan, Popoko, Hutt and Benson. Towson Catholic loses hard fought game 58-47. Towson Catholic played this game without the services of their 6'8 junior center, Byron Joynes (spelled correctly), but freshman Carroll Mitchell played with the confidence of a veteran. Mitchell is going to be a force in the Catholic League over the next 3 years.

The leading scorers for both teams were as followed:
TC- Hopkins (16 pts), Smith (12 pts), Stevenson (8 pts), Mitchell (7 pts) McD- Hutt (15 pts), Popoko (13 pts), Cowan (8 pts) and Brick (5 pts)

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Calvert Hall shuts down McDonogh as No. 6 Cardinals dominate 3rd quarter in 48-43 win

By Mike Frainie
Special To The Sun
Originally published February 6, 2002

Calvert Hall coach Mark Amatucci has been telling his players to play every game as if it were their last.

If that's the case, the sixth-ranked Cardinals also might be hoping that they are judged by their second half, not first, of play.

The host Cardinals went on an 11-0 run to begin the second half and held No. 11 McDonogh scoreless for the first 4:52 of the third quarter in recording a 48-43 Maryland Interscholastic Athletic Association A Conference win yesterday.

Gary Neal

Jaz Cowan

Calvert Hall (19-6, 9-2 conference), which gave up only six points in the third quarter, was led by Gary Neal's 15 points. Jaz Cowan led the Eagles (17-9, 5-8) with 13 points.

"They outhustled us in the first half," said Amatucci. "We were lucky to only be down four at the half. We made some mistakes defensively, and they capitalized on them."

The Eagles scored the first seven points of the game and held seven-point leads three times in the first half. A combination of screens and timely offensive rebounding frustrated the Cardinals.

"At first, we were surprised by their rebounding," said Calvert Hall captain Vince Delaney. "We needed to settle down and not give up as many second shots."

The Cardinals came out of the locker room energized after the break, and used a combination of McDonogh turnovers and aggressive defense to turn a 29-25 deficit into a 36-29 lead.

"We knew we were outhustled in the first half, so we had to outhustle them in the second," said Delaney. "Once we did that, we started to put them away."

But the Eagles didn't give up, cutting it to 44-41 with 1:52 left on Justin Drummond's basket.

Calvert Hall, which began the evening going 0-for-7 at the free-throw line, got four straight free throws down the stretch by Neal to ice the victory.

"I thought we played pretty good," said Cowan. "They came out and got on the big run, and we never recovered. It's not like the desire wasn't there."

Although Amatucci wasn't pleased with the free-throw shooting, he said the Cardinals made them when it counted.

"Gary stepped up for us when he had to," Amatucci said. "I think I'll remember the four at the end that we made, and not the 0-7 start."

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Stevenson finishes up great week

Matt Stevenson

Matt Stevenson, 6'6 wing forward from Towson Catholic finishes a great week of play. He lead his Towson Catholic Owls in scoring two of three games. The first game @ Calvert Hall (1/27) he finished with 11 pts in a tough loss 52-47. Then he picked up the scoring on Friday (2/1) @ Loyola. Matt finished with 31 pts, but again he could not lift the Owls to a win, losing 69-68. The final game of the week vs Archbishop Spalding on Sunday (2/3). Matt led the team again in scoring with 26 pts. The Owls on the road took the Spalding team, led by Will Bowers (22 pts) to double overtime but giving way to a third consecutive loss by 5 pts or less, 76-71. Stevenson finished the week averaging 22.6 pts per game. Matt is getting recruited by several D-1 teams at this time. He is a great student/athlete for Coach Mike Daniels.

Lewis is staking his claim as one of the best in the tough northern league

Jai Lewis

Jai Lewis, 6'7 power forward attending Maine Central Institute has been turning out some big numbers against some of the best in the country. Lewis is prepping at MCI before attending George Mason University next fall. Jai was named to the All Tournament Team at the St. Thomas More tournament held in January. Lewis averaged 18 pts and 11 rebounds during the tournament. He didn't get much help from his teammates during the weekend, his team loss both games. Lewis was the only member of MCI to be named to the All Tournament Team. Jai is averaging 12 pts and 12 rebounds for the season for Coach Carl Henrickson. Jai is from Aberdeen HS where he teamed up with Gary Neal (Calvert Hall) to win a state championship in 2000. Jai was 1st Team All Metro as a senior averaging 15 pts and 18 rebounds per game. Jai finished with over 900 pts and 1000 rebounds in his 3 year career at Aberdeen.

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