McHenry, MD – Cecil College's opening and closing runs Sunday afternoon were more than enough to compensate for everything the Lakers did in between as the Seahawks notched an 82-75 men's basketball victory.
The Lakers withstood Cecil's opening, 17-2 scoring burst, methodically working their way back into the game. Garrett eventually took a late, 69-66 lead – but the Seahawks broke away from a 71-71 deadlock with a game-ending, 11-4 run to claim the win.
"It was nice to see us fight our way back into the game after a slow start," said GC head coach Matt McCullough, whose squad dropped its fifth straight. "We're in a tough stretch of our season. We'll be OK – we just have to go back to work and find ways to improve."
Garrett (12-8 overall, 6-4 region) finally drew even on two free throws by Nasir Coleman (five points, six assists), creating a 52-52 tie with 12:34 remaining. Cecil took a 60-59 lead on Javon Jenkins' 3-pointer with 8:29 remaining, but consecutive layups by Antonio Adams (nine points, 10 rebounds) and Gavin Jackson eventually gave GC a 69-66 advantage with just 3:32 remaining.
Cecil (15-6, 5-2) took a 71-69 lead when Jermaine Goodwin (18 points) hit two free throws with 2:15 remaining before Carmello Myles (17 points, 10 rebounds, three steals) sank both ends of a one-and-one 13 seconds later to again tie the game.
That's when Cecil went on its game-winning run. Jenkins, who scored all 13 of his points in the second half, buried a 3-pointer with 1:46 remaining to put the Seahawks ahead to stay. Cecil then got the benefit of a favorable call when Coleman was called for a flagrant offensive foul, handing the Seahawks two foul shots and possession.
Amir Hite hit both free throws for a 76-71 lead with 1:31 remaining and then the Seahawks were able to bleed precious seconds off the clock on their ensuring possession.
"Cecil stepped up and made winning plays," said McCullough. "Their penetration hurt us the whole game, and they hit a couple of 'threes' in that late stretch."
Jaiden Guy scored 15 points for Cecil, including 13 in the first half as the Seahawks built a 44-36 lead at intermission. After shaking off the 17-2 deficit, GC seemed to have all the momentum after a trey by Jackson (game-high 20 points) cut the Seahawk lead to 35-33. Cecil, however, ran out the half with a 9-3 surge that included a pair of Guy layups.
BCCC 81, GC 70
McHenry, MD – Isaiah Reed scored 14 of his game-high 22 points in the second half Saturday afternoon to help the Panthers pull away.
Albatrit Syla added 16 points while Kuich Gatwech and Ifanieyo Lewis contributed 13 each as Baltimore City Community College improved to 9-8. Garrett lost its fourth straight since starting the season 12-3.
Carmello Myles scored a team-high 14 points for the Lakers; Gavin Jackson and Keyonta Johnson contributed 12 each, while Antonio Adams and Kam Heathington chipped in eight points apiece.
BCCC, which held a 41-38 halftime lead, stretched its advantage to 69-57 with 5:10 remaining behind Reed's hot hand. The Lakers responded with an 8-2 run as Johnson scored six points, including a layup with 2:59 remaining that brought GC within 71-65.
The Lakers had a chance to get within four points, but Nehemiah Johnson missed a pair of free throws, and a couple of Laker tap-in attempts after the second miss failed. GC was its own worst enemy down the stretch, with two technical fouls that ended up costing the Lakers three critical points.
Montgomery 103, GC 100
McHenry, MD – Ibrahim Abdulmateen-Robinson scored 23 points to lead six Raptors into double figures last Wednesday night as Montgomery College rallied to win a critical NJCAA Division II Region 20 contest.
Thomas Loughry had 15 points off the bench for Montgomery, which overcame a 53-47 halftime deficit. The Raptors (17-3) improved to 8-0 in the region while Garrett (12-6) fell to 6-3 in Region 20 play.
