Boys' Basketball: Oakland Mills Dominates Western Tech, Advances to Holiday Tournament Championship

The Oakland Mills Scorpions were once again without their emotional spark, junior forward Kerry Bethea, who was held out of his second straight game by Coach Jon Browne – but they still had their reliable centerpiece.

That would be senior center Greg Whittington, who has thrived without Bethea on the court – scoring 30 or more points in both games Bethea has missed. Whittington put up 31 points and 12 rebounds against the Western Tech Wolverines Tuesday, leading the Scorpions to a 64-32 victory.

Browne refused to go into details on Bethea's benching, simply calling it "a coach's decision," the same words he used following the first game in which the player was held out. 

There appears to be no set timetable for the Bethea's return. Browne says he is making decisions on a game-by-game basis. But the coach did say there is a chance the forward could play in Wednesday's tournament championship game against Parkville.

And the Scorpions need Bethea back in the lineup.

"With Bethea back in the mix we are a different team," Browne admitted. "We're a little bit off sync with Bethea not playing right now."

But not everyone is suffering because the junior forward is not the lineup. And, with Whittington continuing to dominate opposing teams, Oakland Mills continues to win.

When Whittington left the game with 4:14 remaining, he had as many point himself, 31, as the entire Western Tech team.

"They didn't have enough size for anyone to stop him," Browne said. "He just puts us on his back every single night."

Teams continue to have trouble matching up with the 6-foot-9 Whittington, who has the size of a center but the shooting ability and quickness of a guard. Those players tall enough to play with the big man in the post cannot stay with him on the perimeter, and those quick enough to stay with him on the perimeter cannot handle him in the post. 

But the Scorpions don't miss Bethea because of his scoring – though he averages 10.3 points per game. The junior forward brings a certain intensity to the floor every single night, an intensity the team was lacking with Bethea on the bench.

"Unfortunately the boys look unenthused," Browne said. "That scares me."

In the two games that Bethea has missed, the Scorpions have looked flat offensively. Though they continue to win games by large margins – by 20 points on Dec. 22 over Atholton and 32 points Tuesday night – Oakland Mills is not playing as well as they could.

"Honestly, we should have won by 50," Browne said. "We have got to start playing better."

The Scorpions have found themselves relying too heavily on individual effort rather than team basketball. This has worked for Oakland Mills thus far because, as Browne put it, the Scorpions "have a lot of different weapons."

"Someone usually steps up," he said.

And on Tuesday, that someone was senior guard James Peters, who scored the first four points of the night and finished the first half with 14 points and six rebounds.

But when those weapons are limited, the Scorpions struggle.

Peters missed almost all of the second half because of an illness. And with Peters and Bethea out, the Scorpions struggled to find a rhythm offensively, scoring just 22 points in the final two quarters.

"The second half was a closer game than the first," Browne said.

But luckily for the Scorpions, they had gotten off to a fast start, outscoring the Wolverines 18-7 in the first quarter. Peters got the offense moving, scoring the game's first two buckets before Whittington took over, racking up nine points in the quarter.

And the duo would remain hot in the second, combining for 20 of the team's 23 points in the quarter and 35 of the team's 42 points in the first half.

The Scorpions were cruising. They were scoring – Whittington went off for 21 points in the half, while Peters added 14 more – and playing what Browne described as "tremendous" defense.

Oakland Mills led 42-13 after two quarters.

But the Scorpions found themselves without Peters for much of the second half. The senior guard tried to play, but was benched because he was sick.

With Peters on the bench in third quarter, Whittington still didn't suffer, scoring 10 points, but the team did. Oakland Mills scored just 22 points total in the second half as it struggled to find a secondary scoring option. When Whittington was guarded, the other Scorpions were not consistently hitting open shots.

Oakland Mills was still up big.

With a comfortable 30-point cushion going into the fourth quarter, Browne was not hesitant to get his backups on the court.

"Those guys deserve to play," Browne said. "At times it's a little hard to watch but they all deserve some minutes here and there."

The Scorpions would score just seven points in the fourth quarter, but that would be plenty. The final score was 64-32.

With the win, the Scorpions improve to 9-0 and advance to the Oakland Mills' Holiday Tournament championship against Parkville.

And if Oakland Mills can get Peters and Bethea in the mix Wednesday night, the Scorpions have a chance at winning the tournament.

Browne knows that will not be an easy task.

"Tomorrow is going to be a test," Browne said. "Parkville looked exceptional."

The Knights beat the previously undefeated Sherwood Warriors by 23 points in the tournament's opening round, 65-42.

Parkville improved to 5-2 on the season, while Sherwood fell to 6-1.

"We need to get up for that one or we are going to take a pounding," said Browne, acknowledging that his team will struggle if they play another uninspired basketball game.

But the coach believes his team will rise to the challenge.

"Tomorrow should be a hell of a game."