Patapsco Boys Open Holiday Tourney With Big Win

Patapsco guard Devin James acknowledged his team got off to a poor start against Pikesville Tuesday in the nightcap of the Patriots' second annual holiday tournament. They led winless Pikesville by just two points after the first quarter.

"In the first quarter, we couldn't get in sync," James said. "We weren't hitting a lot of shots and we were turning the ball over, rushing things."

No worries.

Patapsco took better care of the ball, hit the glass and got out on the fast break in the second quarter. Led by James' six points in the quarter, the Patriots rolled to a 30-20 halftime margin – still struggling with their shooting a bit – and then pulled away to a 64-33 win after intermission.

The victory moved Patapsco to a 6-1 record on the year. The Patriots' only loss came at Parkville in a game they led by 10 points at halftime.

"I felt like we had a lot of chances in the first half, but didn't take advantage of them," Patapsco head coach Will Marshall said. "We didn't take care of the ball. That 10-point lead at halftime should've been more."

James finished with a game-high 14 points, followed by Aaron Phillips, who scored 11, and Dorian Burke, who came of the bench and also scored 11. Both Phillips and Burke did most of their damage inside.

While the Patriots aren't big in the frontcourt, they are quick upfront. Along with Phillips and Burke, Rowland Hailey and Gregg Spriggs, both forwards, also hurt Pikesville on boards at both ends of the floor.

"We're one of the smaller teams I've coached," said Marshall, a former Sparrows Point forward who went on to play at Western Maryland College (now McDaniel College) and is in his fifth season at Patapsco. "But we've got some skills and we've got some guys who can handle the ball. We can play."

The Patriots finished several games over .500 last season and graduated a number of starters. This year's strong early run may be surprising to some, but not Marshall and James.

"We won our summer league here and I thought we had the potential to be pretty good," Marshall said. "It's eight local teams, but you never know once the season comes. We've got a couple of quick big guys, who are athletic, and we can pound it down low. We also like to get out on the break – and we can pressure the ball."

"We've been playing with each other for a long time, in and outside of school," James said. "We have a lot of confidence in each other."

Marshall and James also both noted they have a score to settle after yesterday's win.

Last year, Patapsco lost to Westminster, which knocked off Eastern Tech, in the boys' opener Tuesday, 52-39.

"We owe them," James said.

The Patapsco boys face off against Westminster at home in tournament final Wednesday at 7 p.m.

Other tournament action:

In the Patapsco girls' tournament opener, the Lady Patriots fell, 76-18, to Century High School from Carroll County. Senior Tori Miller led Patapsco with 10 points, followed by Emily Goodman, a junior, who chipped in 5 points.

Century's Angela Flister led all scorers with 13 points.

Patapsco High School athletic director Chris McGuiness said the Lady Patriots are struggling with injuries this year after graduating several top seniors last year. Taquisha Lambert and Precious Collock, McGuiness said, both starters from last season's Patapsco squad, are getting significant playing time at Goucher College this year.

The Eastern Tech girls (1-5) dropped the tourney's girls' opener to High Point High School from Prince George's County, 37-26. High Point's Tolu Ogunrinde, with 19 points, and Jaime Elie, with nine points, were the game's top scorers.

Leanne Pfeifer and Brianna Hall, who scored six points apiece, led the Eastern Tech girls. They will face Patapsco at 1 p.m. at Patapsco in girls' holiday consolation match.

The Eastern Tech boys lost to Westminster, 52-39, in the boys' holiday opener. Zach Dudley and Nick Ellison, who scored 11 and 10 points, respectively, led Westminster.

The Eastern Tech boys, now 2-4, were led by junior guard Saymon Norman, who scored 19 points.

James Book, the Eastern boys' head coach, said the team has been hurt by an injury to its leading scorer, Eric Ballman, who has a stress fracture and is out indefinitely. Two minutes into the game against Westminster, the team's second-leading scorer, Ben Gettier, dislocated a finger, and his status remains uncertain.

"I thought we played okay, considering everything," Book said.

The Eastern Tech boys will face Pikesville in consolation game Wednesday at 5 p.m. at Patapsco High.