Eagles Fall to Milford Mill in County Championships

For 20 minutes of game play, the Owings Mills High School Eagles held tight against the favored host Milford Mill Millers. Owings Mills even held a six-point lead through the majority of the first half, fueled by 10 early points from junior Carjahn Jenkins.

But by the final five minutes of the third quarter, though, the veteran Millers’ squad broke through, rattling off a 12-4 run to claim a decisive lead on their way to a 61-44 victory in the Baltimore County Championship game. It’s the third consecutive county crown for the Millers.

“We have a very young team. We only play one senior in this rotation. Most are juniors and sophomores coming off the JV,” Owings Mills coach Richard Epps said, who used his postgame speech to set his team’s site on the Regional Championships on the horizon. “Our last seven wins by 23 points. I’d rather play in this game and get refocused. Our youth showed tonight.”

Owings Mills’ Jenkins came off the bench just a few minutes into the game after the Eagles’ offense was stagnant, struggling against the Millers’ man-to-man defense. The sharp-shooting guard knocked down his first 3-point shot on a kick-out from a driving Tyson Smith to tie the game at seven a side. Two minutes later with just seconds remaining in the quarter, Jenkins’ pulled up from further than 30 feet away from the basket to launch a high arcing shot that put the Eagles up 15-9.

Meanwhile, Owings Mills 1-3-1 defense dared the Milford Mill backcourt to shoot from the outside. The Millers struggled from deep, choosing instead to drive into the heart of the Eagles’ zone, resulting in few clean looks at the basket, along with numerous shooting fouls, where the home team found enough looks from the free throw line to keep pace.

Jenkins opened the second quarter with a lay-in to give the Eagles a 20-14 lead. Sticking to their zone defense, Owings Mills continued to frustrate the Millers’ attack, but Milford stuck to the same game plan, looking for holes to drive and taking the ball to the basket. Milford Mill scored six consecutive points on free throws, knocking down each shot attempted. The Millers ended the half on an 8-3, claiming the lead.

The Eagles clung tight, but fueled by Millers’ point guard Chase Cormier’s quick six points in the final five minutes of the third quarter, Milford Mill ran out to a 36-27 advantage before Epps called a timeout to settle his young squad.

Composed to open the fourth quarter, Owings Mills sought to chip away at the Millers lead. Extending their defense to halfcourt, the Eagles forced an early turnover leading to a easy lay-in by Smith. Adjusting to the Eagles’ altered defensive alignment, the Millers slowed the pace to a crawl – spreading the Owings Mills’ defense to all corners of the court – before picking it apart with quick passes that led to easy lay-ins on cuts to the basket.

Frantically, the Eagles pushed to pick up the pace and cut into the lead, but the Millers held tight in a disciplined defensive set to halt the Owings Mills rally.

“I feel really good where we are going toward the regionals. We are No. 1 seed and everybody is coming to us,” Epps said. “These guys now know what it takes to play championship basketball. I told them, that if we are going to lose a championship game, it’s this one, because our goal is to win the state.”