After 14-1 Start, Patapsco Patriots Drop Fifth Straight Game

After starting the season 14-1, the Patapsco Patriots have hit a road block. The team has lost several key players for various reasons – a list that now includes starting point guard Gary Fayall.

The new-look Patriots have struggled to adjust, dropping four straight games, but head coach Will Marshall is not making excuses.

“We take responsibility for what happens,” he said. “I think we’ll get there, but it might take a little bit of time.”

As the coach went on to explain, time, however, is the one thing the Patriots do not have.
“You don’t have time in the middle of the season, because you play night after night,” Marshall said.

And to make things worse, Patapsco hosted 13-6 (11-1 in conference) Parkville High School Saturday afternoon. The Knights scored the first basket of the game on a 3-pointer by Skylar Collins and never looked back. Collins scored 23 points on the day as Parkville completed the wire-to-wire win over the Patriots, 65-52.

“We knew it was going to be a tough game going in,” Marshall said. “But I like to win.”

Parkville started the game strong, going on a 17-3 run to open up an early 14 point lead. The run started with five straight points from Collins, including one of his five 3-pointers, and ended with James Milton’s third dunk of the game.

“They have one of the most dominant players in the area,” Marshall said, referring to Milton. “[He] can dunk with the best of them.”

Milton finished with a game-high 24 points, including eight high-flying dunks.
The Patriots just did not have the size to matchup with the Knights.

“They are much taller than us, so I knew that would be tough,” Marshall said.

The Knights outscored Patapsco 23-11 in the first quarter, but the Patriots continued to battle. After Parkville opened the second quarter on a small 5-0 run, the Patapsco offense finally came alive.

The Patriots went on a 15-2 run to pull within four points of the Knights. The run saw five different Patapsco players score - Dorian Burke, Greg Spriggs, Rowland Hailey, Davon Darby, and Devin James.  Hailey finished the game with a team-high 14 points, Burke added 11, James chipped in 11 of his own, Spriggs scored 10, and Darby ended with six.

Milton would hit a late shot to extend the Parkville lead to six, but Patapsco was back in the game. “The guys battled,” Marshall said. The Patriots trailed 32-26 at the half.

After outscoring the Knights 15-9 in the second, Patapsco started slow in the third, failing to score for the first 3:08 of the quarter. The problems that had plagued the Patriots in the first – missed shots and turnovers – were once again tormenting Patapsco.

The Knights led 43-34 entering the fourth quarter after outscoring Patapsco 11-8 in the third. Parkville started the game’s final quarter on an 11-4 run to extend their lead to 16 points, 54-38.
The Patriots tried to claw their way back, going on a 10-2 run that included 3-pointers from both Burke and Hailey, but in the end, the deficit was just too large for Patapsco to overcome.

“We have to do some regrouping,” Marshall said. “But we are moving on.”
With the loss Patapsco fell to 14-6 on the year.