McHenry, MD – The Garrett College men's basketball team is officially the "best of the West".
Rob Smith scored 18 points Monday night to lead four Lakers into double figures as GC topped Frederick Community College, 70-60. Garrett (17-11 overall, 5-7 conference) used the victory to complete a conference sweep of Western Maryland rivals FCC, Hagerstown Community College, and Allegany College of Maryland.
"Those are three really good wins against three very good, well-coached teams," said GC head coach Matt McCullough, whose team is 10-2 at home. "We played very well defensively tonight against Frederick. I'm happy for the guys. It means a lot to every one of us."
Munchy Thompson scored 12 points – on a quartet of 3-pointers – while Korey Mitchum added 11 points and AJ Crosby contributed 10. Nyrek Wheeler and Kam Heathington chipped in seven points each.
Isaiah Horner led Frederick with 14 points.
Frederick (10-12, 4-9) overcame a 33-23, first-half deficit with a 10-0 run that included a pair of Horner 3-pointers. Garrett, however, went back in front on Antonio Adams' three-point play, and a steal-and-slam by Wheeler that helped the Lakers to a 38-35 halftime lead.
The Cougars were still within 62-59 before Wheeler buried a 3-pointer with 1:47 remaining. Wheeler sealed the win in the final minute with a second-chance basket that made it 68-60.
Garrett hosts CCBC-Catonsville Wednesday at 7 p.m. and travels to CCBC-Dundalk on Saturday for a 1 p.m. contest.
"We're excited for two more tough tests on Wednesday and Saturday," said McCullough, whose squad will play its NJCAA Division II Region 20 playoff opener on March 7th.
Garrett 75, Hagerstown 67
McHenry, MD – AJ Crosby scored a game-high 27 points and pulled down eight rebounds as the host Lakers led wire-to-wire in Saturday afternoon's win over Hagerstown.
GC sprinted to a 7-2 lead as Crosby started the run with a layup and ended it with a jumper. Crosby added a 3-pointer with 14:17 remaining in the half, stretching the Laker lead to 14-5.
The Lakers, who had a 35-28 halftime lead, used another 7-2 spurt early in the second half to take firm control. Crosby had a layup and two free throws in the run as GC built a 44-32 cushion.
"AJ has steadily become a handful for other teams," said GC assistant coach Jeff Hoffman, who guided the Lakers in head coach Matt McCullough's absence. "He put it all together against Hagerstown."
Hagerstown, which trailed by as many as 14 points, pulled within 69-63, but a Crosby slam in the final minute stopped the Hawks' momentum and sealed the win.
Hoffman praised the Lakers' defensive effort.
"Hagerstown had about a half-dozen shot-clock violations because they couldn't get a good look at the basket," observed Hoffman. "When we play tough defense like that, we're hard to beat."
Nyrek Wheeler finished with an impressive double-double, scoring 16 points and grabbing a game-high 15 rebounds while dealing out a game-high six assists. Wheeler and Crosby each blocked two shots for the Lakers.
Rob Smith was the third Laker in double figures with 13 points. Korey Mitchum (three assists, two steals) and Kamren Heathington (four rebounds, one block) each scored seven points.
Montgomery 72, GC 66
ROCKVILLE – Terrance Williams (17 points, eight rebounds) made 4-of-4 free throws in the last 1:33 to spark a 9-3, game-ending run Wednesday night as the Raptors rallied for the win.
GC's Korey Mitchum tied the game, 63-63, on a layup with 1:37 remaining, but was called for a foul four seconds later and then assessed a technical foul. Williams hit the two technical foul shots and teammate Marquise Trent (15 points) threw down a dunk with 1:07 remaining to give the Raptors a 67-63 lead.
Munchy Thompson (16 points) split a pair of free throws and AJ Crosby (game-high 23 points) hit a layup to pull GC within 67-66 with 24 seconds remaining. The Lakers then fouled Williams with 15 second left, and Williams made both free throws for a 69-66 lead.
Thompson missed a potential game-tying 3-pointer with eight seconds to go, but teammate Rob Smith came up with the offensive rebound. Smith, however, was called for a controversial turnover that effectively ended the game.
GC's bench was hit with two technical fouls after the final buzzer, and Trent converted three of the four free throws for the final margin of victory.
Nyrek Wheeler posted a double-double for Garrett with 11 points and a game-high 10 rebounds.
Christian Martin (14 points) and Jayden Rowe (10 points) were the third and fourth Raptors in double figures.
Montgomery made 30-of-40 free throws as a team, compared to 16-of-29 by GC. The Lakers were called for 26 fouls versus 21 by the hosts.
