High School Sports: Laurel Prep Roundup

The St. Vincent Pallotti High boys basketball team had its winning streak stopped at seven with a last-second loss, 65-64, in overtime on the road Tuesday at The Severn School. And while head coach Shae Johnson would have loved to keep the streak alive, the loss means he could reach a milestone victory in front of the home fans tonight.

Johnson, in his fifth season as the head coach, has a record of 99-31 with the Panthers going into the game tonight (Feb. 3) against Baltimore Friends at 5:45 p.m. After a slow start, Pallotti has played well since the first of the year and is now 14-11 overall and 8-7 in the B division of the Maryland Interscholastic Athletic Association (MIAA). Pallotti won at Baltimore Friends, 63-53, on Jan. 28.

"Some of our guys had not had a lot of playing time," Johnson said Wednesday of the team's revival. "It was kind of new to them. We have so many young kids. But we can go 10 or 11 deep."

In 2009, Johnson led Pallotti to the B conference title game before falling to St. Mary's of Annapolis.

Among the key players this season has been junior Langston Barnett, who played at Pallotti as a freshman and then attended Paul VI in Fairfax, Va., last academic year as a sophomore. Johnson said Barnett wanted a chance to play in the Washington Catholic Athletic Conference (WCAC) and they kept in touch during the time Barnett was at Paul VI. Barnett and teammate Aubrey Williams are both averaging about 13 points per contest.

Johnson said Williams and fellow senior Sebastian Opon are attracting attention from some college programs, including Division II Virginia Union and Bowie State. Opon played at St. John's Catholic High before transferring to Pallotti.

Pallotti girls nearly pull off huge upset

The Seton Keough girls basketball squad, one of the top-ranked teams in the Baltimore area, came to Laurel on Wednesday night with two seniors who have signed to play Division I college hoops next season. The Gators nearly left Pallotti with a loss.

The Gators came away with a 57-51 victory in overtime against Pallotti, which fell to 5-7 in its first season in the A division of the Interscholastic Athletic Association of Maryland (IAAM). Seton Keough improved to 16-5 overall and 10-2 in league play. When the teams met last month Seton Keough won by 30 points.

"We matched their intensity," said a drained Pallotti head coach Josh Pratt after the game. "Last time we matched their intensity for one quarter. This time we matched it for four quarters. There are no moral victories, but they are the No. 2 team in the Baltimore area."

Pallotti senior guard Mariah Hankton had 16 points and Tiffany Padgett had 10. Achiri Ade, who is headed to James Madison University, had 19 points for Seton Keough, Amber Singletary had 17 and Liz Brown, who has signed with Richmond, had 10. "It was a great, competitive game," said Jackie Boswell, the head coach for Seton Keough.

"It was a tough loss," said Hankton, who signed with Division II Southern Connecticut last fall. "We just played with heart, but they pulled it out." Hankton, from Upper Marlboro, attended Bishop McNamara in Forestville and Princeton Day in Lanham before transferring to Pallotti for her senior season. "It is exciting for me to be part of this team," she said.

Boswell was impressed with Hankton. "I think she will do well in college. She distributes the ball well," Boswell said. Hankton said she also looked into attending Mount St. Mary's, New Haven and Central Connecticut before deciding on Southern Connecticut.

Pallotti senior Chizzy Ekedigwe, who signed with Division I Seton Hall last fall, was held to four points on Wedneday. "She can rebound. She has good hands," Boswell said. Seton Keough is the alma mater of Haliena Snowden, who grew up in Laurel and finished her college career last year at Towson University. Snowden was teammates at Towson with Kandace Davis, a former Laurel High standout.

Laurel boys down Oxon Hill

Laurel  beat Oxon Hill, 56-43, on Tuesday in boys basketball as senior Zane Carroll had 15 points for the Spartans, who will host Flowers on Friday at 7 p.m. Laurel is 7-10 overall and 5-7 in league play.

The Laurel girls lost, 77-44, to Oxon Hill despite 15 points from Asia Giles. The Spartans play Friday at Flowers.

Jones was key player for Delaware

Darryl Jones, a former Laurel resident, was a starting senior defensive back this past season for the University of Delaware in football. A graduate of St. John's Catholic High, he was named to the all-Colonial Athletic Association third team and helped the Blue Hens reach the national title game last month in Texas.

Jones, fourth on the team in tackles with 88, was part of one of the top defensive backfields in the country. Delaware lost to Eastern Washington in the Division I-AA title game, 20-19. The previous two national champs were from the CAA: Richmond in 2008 and Villanova in 2009. Jones, a transfer from Northeastern, moved into the starting lineup the fourth game of the season and started 12 of 15 games.

Laurel resident with college swimming team

Nathan Brocenos of Laurel is a freshman on the swim team at Division III St. Mary’s of southern Maryland. He is a graduate of Reservoir High School in Howard County. St. Mary’s will host the Capital Athletic Conference championships Feb. 18-20.