Boys Basketball: Parkville Remains Unbeaten in League Play

After not playing a basketball game for nearly two weeks thanks to the wintry weather in the area, the Parkville Knights were finally able to rid themselves of the bitter taste of their recent loss to Dunbar with a win in Wednesday night's rather easy 90-47 victory over Towson.

On Thursday night, the Knights faced a pesky Catonsville squad but were able to get a second wind in the fourth quarter to pull out a 84-68 victory.  The W over Catonsville is the Knights' second win in consecutive nights, keeping them unbeaten in the Baltimore County 3A/4A Conference. The loss dropped Catonsville to 2-3 in conference play.

As usual, Parkville(12-5) was led by James Milton, who finished with 23 points, 14 rebounds, and was just dominating inside. Milton had plenty of help on the night, as Isaiah Tripp and Dennis Hughes each scored 17 points, Jamal Williams added 16, and all three came up with five rebounds. Tripp led the Knights with five assists, while Skylar Collins contributed with eight steals, six rebounds and seven points.

Catonsville(7-8) was led by D.J. Kearney Jr., who finished with 18 points, 12 coming in the third quarter, and Deniko Carter, who added 14 points and five rebounds. Jamal Jackson chipped in with nine points and five rebounds, while Zack Hill scored eight points for the Comets.

Parkville dominated the inside game, as they out-rebounded the Comets 42-26.

The game went back and forth early on, but after a Carter basket tied the game at 11 midway through the first, the Knights went on a 10-0 run to jump out to a 21-11 lead. A Milton block set up an outlet pass from Tripp to Williams for an easy layup, and a strong drive Milton led down the lane allowed for another easy bucket, and Parkville led after one quarter, 21-13.

The second quarter was a tale of two runs. Parkville started the quarter on a 14-4 run to up their lead to 18, with the last six points coming on a ferocious one-handed slam inside by Milton, a steal and breakaway layup from Collins, and another steal and end-to-end slam by Hughes.

Catonsville answered back however, as they finished the half on a 12-4 run of their own to go into the half down only 10, at 39-29. A three-pointer off the bench by Calder Styer and a layup at the buzzer by Jackson helped cut the deficit.

The third quarter again went back and forth as it looked as though the Knights beagn to tire a bit thanks in part to the back to back games. Catonsville was able to break out and get a lot of fast break points, mainly Kearney Jr., who scored 12 points in the quarter.

Catonsville coach Brian Barber was pleased with Kearney's play on the evening. "D.J. was taking the ball agressively to the hoop," Barber said. "We wanted to attack the defense and he did that well."

A layup by Kearney Jr. cut the Parkville lead to 47-42, before Tripp scored five straight to bump the lead back to 10. Another layup from Kearney Jr. got the Comets back to within five at 58-53 late in the quarter, but Parkville added one last basket before the quarter ended to head to the fourth with a 60-53 lead.

Just as Catonsville thought they had a chance to hang with the first-place Knights, Parkville stepped up their intensity to put the game away.

The Knights scored 15 of the first 19 points in the fourth, seven of which came from the hot hand of Dennis Hughes, to put the lead back to 75-57, and it was time to clear the benches.

Hughes was thankful to his colleagues. "My teammates gave me the ball," he said. "They trusted me and had really good ball movement. I came through for them and my shots."

Parkville interim coach Larry Washington credited his defense and Hughes for the victory. "In the fourth we switched to 1-3-1 zone defense and that really helped. I tried to toughen the guys up a bit with the man coverage, but our lack of speed at the guard position cost us. Our size inside was a huge problem for them, which made the zone very effective," said Washington, who also added, "Dennis is one of our seniors, and he had a tough stretch where he had four straight turnovers. I had to take him out, give him an earful, but he responded well and hit some big shots for us."

Barber was disappointed with his team's lack of consistency. "We played well in spurts – basketball is a game of runs," he said. "We had our moments where we shined and other times not so much, and that is what we need to work on."

Both teams play their next game next Wednesday, and both are on the road. Parkville travels to face Kenwood, while Catonsville goes to Franklin.