The first day of the ESPN Rise National High School Invitational at Coppin State's Physical Education Complex saw one future Terp's high school career come to an end, and another survive to play at least one more game.
Oak Hill (Va.) Academy dropped a 59-53 decision to Mountain State Academy (W.Va.). Maryland-bound combo guard Pe'Shon Howard reached double figures in the loss for the Warriors.
Pe'Shon Howard, committed to Maryland, added 11 for Oak Hill.
"I told Pe'Shon he had to be more aggressive in the second half because I was getting tired," [Doron] Lamb said.Small forward pledge Haukur Palsson's Montverde (Fla.) Academy team toughed out a 51-49 win over Montrose Christian, advancing to a semifinal matchup with Winter Park (Fla.).
Testudo Times' Ben Broman offered a scouting report of Palsson's game.
He had some nice passes, but if this game was any indication, he's not a shooter, or a scorer, or a penetrator. ... On the good side, he played decent when he saw the floor, and had a nice feel for the game, evidenced by a few solid assists.
• Maryland women's small forward signee Alyssa Thomas was the headliner on the Harrisburg (Pa.) Patriot-News' Big 15 team. The paper took an extensive look back at Thomas' record-breaking four-year career.
"She has so much talent, no joke, I think she really could have averaged 10 points a night this season in the Mid-Penn boys' league," said Harrisburg coach Dwan Lee, a former boys' coach at Bishop McDevitt.
• Terps center commitment Alicia DeVaughn had three points, five rebounds and one block in the McDonald's All-American Game on Wednesday.
"It is was a privilege to get selected,'' DeVaughn said late Wednesday night. "I never played before such a large crowd and on such a big network like ESPN. Not everybody is able to become a McDonald's All-American like Candace Parker and Ivory Latta. It's like you are part of that team now."
• UM combo guard pledge Natasha Cloud was selected to the All-Delco Girls Basketball team.
A senior and two-time All-Delco, she averaged 12.4 points per and helped the Lions qualify for the PIAA Class AAAA Tournament for the second year in a row. Her strong offensive and defensive efforts made it possible for O'Hara to beat Downingtown East in the opening round of states.
Football recruiting
• MaxPreps.com checked in with Boyd Anderson (Fla.) defensive end Shaun Ward, who committed to Maryland one week ago.
"Maryland is a really good school," said Ward. "The coaches seem like positive role models for their players and I hear they have one of the top Criminal Justice programs in the nation. That's what I want to study in college so it definitely helped my decision."
• The York (Pa.) Daily Record's Frank Bodani this week profiled Maryland defensive back target Kyshoen Jarrett. The East Stroudsburg (Pa.) product helps care for his 19-year-old brother, who has cerebral palsy and is legally blind.
"I really don't mind staying home and watching him when everyone else is partying. It just saves me from getting in trouble," said Kyshoen, a 5-foot-11, 175-pound cornerback/safety hybrid.
• ESPN.com's JC Shurburtt has updates in his weekly column on several Maryland targets, including Brooklyn, N.Y., defensive lineman Ishaq Williams, St. John's (D.C.) defensive tackle Kevin McReynolds, and a new defensive end prospect.
Maryland is the latest offer for defensive end Deion Barnes (Philadelphia, Pa./Northeast).