BOYS BASKETBALL: Cougars Snap Losing Skid Against Falcons

Chesapeake High School came out on top Tuesday night in a closely-contested battle against Severna Park. The Cougars capitalized in the fourth quarter, scoring on seven of their last nine possessions to defeat the Falcons 49-46 in Pasadena.

Chesapeake (6-11) led throughout most of the contest, but continued struggles inside often kept the Cougars from increasing their lead.

At the start of the second quarter, with the Cougars up 11-9, the Falcons were able to force the ball inside to big man John Galdi for an easy two to tie things up 11. The Falcons also dominated on rebounds as Chesapeake struggled to box out.

The Cougars have been battling injuries at center, and were missing two big men last night. Senior Zach Seifert has been out with a knee injury and junior Jacob McKenzie has missed time with the flu.

“We are down to two big [men], and in Anne Arundel County basketball you’re going to need more than two big men to compete,” Chesapeake coach Marlon Bailey said. “But tonight, everyone stepped up and we did a good job.”

Chesapeake was led down the stretch by Brett Garver and Zach Brass.

With 3:35 to go, and Chesapeake down 43-39, Garver hit a three to close the gap 43-42. On the Falcon’s ensuing possessions, they struggled to get the ball inside thanks to a strong Cougar defense. Severna Park turned the ball over twice, and settled for some bad shots in the final minutes.

With two minutes to go, Cougar guard Aaron Terry went to the line and hit his first free throw to tie the game 43-43. The Falcons missed on the next possession giving the ball back to Chesapeake, which capitalized on a jumper from Brass to take the lead 45-43.

“Brett [Garver] has been an all-around player since his freshman year,” Bailey said. “He is capable of scoring and he is a very non-selfish player. Today Aaron [Terry’s] wrist was a little hurt, and Brett [Garver] stepped up as a senior and a captain when we needed him the most.”

Garver led the team with 17 points as the Cougars finally snapped their five-game losing streak.

“It means everything in the world to us,” he said. “We have to get ready down the stretch, for the end of the season.”

After the game, Garver was just excited to get a win.

“I feel like it wasn’t just me who stepped up, it was everybody,” Garver said. “We knew Aaron was hurt and we needed to step up down low. It feels good. I am just pumped right now. I feel really good.”