McHenry, MD – Gavin Jackson scored 19 first-half points and Cory Harper tallied 17 after intermission Saturday afternoon, sparking Garrett College to a 101-74 men's basketball blowout against visiting Frederick Community College.
The Lakers almost literally ran their guests out of the building, using their up-tempo style to break the 100-point mark for the third time this season.
"We had a good game plan and our guys executed it really well," said GC head coach Matt McCullough. "We got out and ran in transition early. Gavin started the game really hot and hits some big shots for us."
Garrett improved to 8-2 overall and 3-0 in NJCAA Division II Region 20.
"We knew coming in how important this game was for us," said McCullough. "We're off to a really good start in the region, and this game has regional playoff implications."
GC's Keyonta Johnson drove the lane for a layup with 15:30 left in the first half, breaking a 7-7 tie and putting the Lakers ahead to stay. Jackson and Nasir Coleman, who each finished with 21 points, then knocked down consecutive 3-pointers as Garrett built a 15-7 lead.
Stephen Robinson's slam dunk in transition off a Coleman feed gave GC its first double-digit lead of the game at 22-12. The Lakers took their biggest lead of the half on a Jackson fast-break layup that made it 46-31 before settling for a 46-33 cushion at the break.
Frederick went to a box-and-one in the second half to try to slow down Jackson, with reserve guard Julian Ludwig coming on to shadow the Laker star. While that strategy paid dividends – Jackson had just one post-intermission basket – it opened up the floor for Harper to hit five treys while scoring all 17 of his points in the second half.
"We've seen it all year in practice and we were excited he [Harper] put it together on a game day," McCullough observed. "And Cory wasn't just making shots – he was engaged defensively and on the boards."
Frederick was still within 13 points at 53-40 before the Lakers went on a 9-0 run to put the game away. Johnson buried a 3-pointer, Jackson and Coleman contributed transition layups, and K'Shawn Scott sank a pair of free throws as the lead reached 62-40.
At that point, the only question was whether the Lakers would hit the century mark. Johnson (19 points) answered that question with a three-point play off a driving layup with 18.7 seconds remaining that got GC to 101 points.
Aiden Igwebe finished with a game-high 33 points, 10 rebounds and four blocks, but no other Cougar scored more than seven points.
GC 85, Westmoreland 65
Youngwood, PA – Gavin Jackson scored a game-high 19 points last Wednesday night as the Lakers snapped a two-game losing streak.
K'Shawn Scott (eight rebounds, three assists, three steals, two blocks) added 18 points for visiting Garrett College. Marqui Olds contributed 15 points, Keyonta Johnson (nine rebounds, five assists, three steals) chipped in with 11 points, and Nasir Coleman (six rebounds, game-high 10 assists) posted eight points.
Petar Kos and Cory Harper scored six points each for the Lakers, who built a 43-35 halftime lead before pulling away after intermission.
Lorenzo Gardner scored a team-high 16 points for Westmoreland County Community College. Teammate Colin Masten added 11 points and Alex Lowry (six points) pulled down a game-high 11 rebounds.
