Boys Hoops: Warriors Season Ends in Owings Mills

Owings Mills may have only returned two key contributors from last year’s state finalist squad, but the rest of the team is proving they can perform in the playoffs like they’ve been there before.

Junior Tyson Smith netted a game-high 22 points to go along with nine rebounds and six assists and sophomore Ahmaad Wilson added a clutch 15 points as the Eagles pulled away early in the fourth quarter to eliminate visiting Havre de Grace, 72-59, in the region semifinals for the second straight season.  

“They really just buckled up and played,” Owings Mills head coach Richard Epps said, his squad outscoring Havre de Grace 23-13 in the final frame.

“They didn’t want to go home. They knew the only way they weren’t going to go home was to make some stops—and that’s what they did tonight.”

Guard Monty Werts paced the Warriors with a team-high 17 points and nine boards, as Havre de Grace shook off a rough first quarter—one where they were outscored 22-11—to come within three prior to the half and actually assumed a brief lead (42-41) when a Werts lay-in capped off an 8-0 run with two minutes remaining in the third period.

However, Wilson buried a triple on the ensuing possession to snatch the advantage right back and quickly shelve the Warriors’ first (and last) lead since the opening minutes of the first quarter.

After Havre de Grace guard Travonn Bond knotted the game back up with a two-point bucket on the other end, Owings Mills ditched their zone defense and went to man-to-man—a change that fueled a 13-2 spurt that stretched from the last minute in the third quarter to the 5:05 mark in the fourth.   

Junior Carjahn Jenkins—one of the returnees from last year’s squad—said the defensive switch fired up the Eagles, simply because man-to-man is something they rarely get to play.

“It does a lot,” Jenkins said, when asked if man defense energizes his squad. “We barely get to do it. So it’s special when we get to. I think they weren’t used to it; it was like a new look to them.”

Owings Mills obtained the lead by pumping in eight points unanswered to begin the fourth quarter. Senior guard Isaac Brown (13 points) converted a three-point play on the opening possession, Wilson buried a corner three and forward Kyle Thomas sank two free throws.

A 49-46 game transformed into an 11-point Eagles’ lead before a Nate Jones (13 points, seven rebounds) free throw finally ended the four-minute cold spell.  

Although Owings Mills’ swap into the man-to-man appeared to perplex the surging Warriors, Havre de Grace head coach Johnny Brooks said his squad simply wore down during the fourth quarter.

“I think our legs just got a little tired,” Brooks said. “We were playing catch-up throughout the game, playing hard defense. We just got a little tired.”

The Warriors also struggled to keep pace with Owings Mills’ deadly outside shooting. The Eagles hit on ten three pointers compared to Havre de Grace’s two—including none in the second half as the Warriors frantically tried to mount a comeback.

“They shoot the ball really well out there,” Brooks said of the Eagles long distance game. “They might have made ten—I lost count. Three-point shots were the difference in the game. There’s nothing like the three-point shot.”  

Havre de Grace’s only triples actually came on back-to-back possessions in the second quarter when—trailing 29-20—Bond and Jones each hit from the outside and Werts muscled in a three-point play to seemingly deadlock the score prior to intermission.

However, after a couple of knee-buckling moves, the Eagles’ Smith dished out to Thomas who banged in a triple from the wing to assume a 32-29 lead as the halftime horn sounded. 

Both squads put up 17 points apiece in the third quarter to preserve the three point margin before Owings Mills finally pulled away for the win.  

The Eagles will take on cross-town rival New Town in the region final Friday night at Owings Mills at 7.

“We’re kind of pumped to go back to the regional finals again,” Jenkins said. “We won it last year against Pikesville, so it feels good to go back again.”

Friday night’s winner will represent the Class 1A North in the state semifinals.