Glen Burnie Gophers Cruise to Second Round Victory Over Great Mills Hornets

Sometimes experience is everything.

The Gophers put that saying to the test Tuesday night, leaning on their upperclassmen when the game was on the line. And the coaching staff was happy with the result.

Seniors Larry Mike and Jamar Kane and junior Will Brown combined to score 60 of the team’s 89 points, leading the Gophers to an 89-65 victory over the Hornets in the 4A East Regional playoffs.

“Normally after a 10-day layoff your offense takes a hit,” said Glen Burnie assistant coach Brian Kellner. “But tonight, that was not the case.”

Head coach Mike Rudd said he was especially happy with the student turnout.

"I was real pleased with our fans. They really showed up and gave us a great homecourt advantage," Rudd said.

Glen Burnie’s night got off to a rocky start Tuesday.

The microphone batteries died right in the middle of senior Andrew Fouch’s rendition of the national anthem. But as the Gophers proved at that very moment, Glen Burnie is not about any one individual.

Sensing their classmate was in trouble, the entire student section burst into song, finishing the Star Spangled Banner and putting a smile on Fouch’s face.

Glen Burnie’s basketball team employed that same strategy in its second-round playoff game against the Hornets—when one man could not get the job done, someone else was ready to step up and take charge.

After a few early turnovers and a Brandon Teston 3-point play that gave the Hornets an early 3-0 lead, the Glen Burnie offense caught fire.

Junior Clarence Watkins got the Gophers on the board, and then Mike and Kane took over.

“They have carried us all year,” Kellner said.

Mike had a 3-point play of his own to give the Gophers their first lead of the night, 6-3, and then Kane hit his first of five 3-pointers to extend Glen Burnie’s lead, 9-5.

Kane, who finished the game with 21 points, was far from done.

The senior hit two more 3-pointers in the first, finishing the quarter with nine points as the Gophers clung to a one-point lead, 25-24.

If the first quarter belonged to Kane, the second was all Mike’s.

Glen Burnie started the quarter on a 5-2 run. Then Mike went on a run of his own, scoring the Gophers’ next eight points to extend the team’s lead to nine at 38-29.

Mike finished with 10 points in the second and a team-high 22 for the game.

The Gophers outscored the Hornets 20-14 in the quarter and entered halftime with a 45-38 lead.

Just like the previous two quarters, the third would have its very own star. This time Brown took charge and scored 10 of the team’s first 12 points in the quarter.

“We have been waiting for him to step up offensively,” Kellner said. “Tonight it finally happened.”

Brown finished the game with 17 points.

The Gophers led by 14 after three quarters, 64-50.

Although the first, second and third quarters all had their own heroes, the fourth belonged to no single player. Rather, it was a time for all Gophers to celebrate.

Glen Burnie outscored Great Mills 25-15 in the game’s final eight minutes, giving the Gophers a 24-point victory.

With the win, Glen Burnie advances to the third round of the 4A East Regional playoffs where they will face the 21-3 Broadneck Bruins, who finished the regular season atop the Anne Arundel County rankings. The game is 7 p.m. Wednesday at Broadneck.

“It will be a hard-fought game,” Kellner said. “But we are looking forward to it.”

Editor's note: This article was updated at 11:23 a.m.