HCC Defeats Montgomery College in Men's Basketball

Howard Community College pulled to a 5-4 conference record and 8-8 overall with a 77-65 win over Montgomery College Takoma Park Monday night.

Jeff James (Bowie) led HCC with 17 points. Ben Vester (Wilde Lake) had his best game of the year with 15 points and 11 rebounds. Dolapo Olugbile (Reservoir) and Nico Jones (River Hill) had 8 points each and Andrew Moore (Hammond) chipped in 6.

Montgomery College led at halftime, 40-37.

Howard Head Coach Mike Smelkinson (Long Reach) talked to his players at halftime to motivate them.

“I challenged them at halftime to step it up on (the) defensive end of the floor and they really responded in the second half," Smelkinson said. "We gave up 40 first-half points and I set a goal to hold them under 65. I give my guys a lot of credit in taking pride in their defense the second half of the game.”

HCC turned up the defensive pressure in the second half and quickly took control of the game.

Five minutes into the second half, Howard turned a 3-point deficit into a 10-point lead and maintained a double digit lead throughout the second half.

“Offensively we rebounded well and we thoroughly executed our plays," Olugbile said.  "We were able to create good shots.” 

HCC plays at home Wednesday night against local rival Prince George’s Community College at 7:30. 

“We are still searching for consistency," Smelkinson said.  "Hopefully we can build on this and keep heading in the right direction."

Editor's Note: Jay Nowaskey is an assistant coach for the Howard Community College men's basketball team. He will be providing game highlights and team updates for Columbia Patch throughout the season.