Boys Basketball: Eagles Clamp Down on Panthers En Route to Convincing Victory

Kyle Thomas scored a game-high 17 points as Owings Mills pulled away from Pikesville for a 67-41 win Monday night.

Thomas, Carjahn Jenkins (16 points) and Tyson Smith (16 points) combined for 49 of the Eagles’ 67 points.

Yet despite the wide margin of victory, Eagles Coach Richard Epps wasn’t overly pleased with his team’s effort.

Owings Mills (16-2), which defeated the Panthers, 85-55 on Dec. 17, led by only five midway through the second quarter and shot just 12-of-34, or  35 percent, as a team during the second half. It also turned the ball over eight times, although it did manage to clamp down on Pikesville (1-18) defensively.

“We didn’t play with any discipline or any fire,” Epps said of his team. “You have to play hard against everybody. And that’s what they need to realize getting ready to go into the playoffs. Every possession counts and you’ve got to play with a passion.

"And if they don’t, it’s going to be a quick exit [come the postseason]. And that’s what I’m trying to stress to them right now … But Pikesville also didn’t give up. They played with a fire that they didn’t play with earlier in the year.”

And led by Jared Kurlander, the Panthers kept the game tight for most of the first half.

Kurlander, who connected on three 3-pointers Monday, scored six of his nine points during the first quarter alone. Pikesville ended the quarter tied at 17 and trailed just 24-19 midway through the second before the Eagles went on a 12-4 run to close out the first half.

But from there, the Panthers, who started off the game extremely hot from the field, went ice cold. After exploding for 17 points during the first quarter, Pikesville managed to score only 24 more points the rest of the game.

The Panthers, who struggled mightily to break down Owings Mills’ 3-2 zone, connected on only seven of their 31 second-half shot attempts (23 percent). They also coughed up 10 turnovers. The Eagles closed the game on a 11-3 run.

“I was really happy with our effort,” Pikesville coach Anthony Dorsey said. “We came out and shot the ball well early and I couldn’t ask for more defensively, overall. I think we’re finally starting to get after it defensively.

"But we had a couple of turnovers here and there and some shots didn’t fall. And [Owings Mills] just out-manned us down the stretch.”