C. Milton Wright's first-ever trip to the Maryland State Basketball Championships in College Park didn't go so well Thursday in a Class 3A state semifinal.
Despite scoring the game's first basket in the first five seconds, the Mustangs were beaten handily by a talented, athletic Centennial club, 75-61, inside the Xfinity Center at the University of Maryland.
The Mustangs came out a little flat, missing more shots than they made, while Centennial seemed to make everything. In reality, the Eagles shot better than 60 percent in the first half and exactly 60 percent from beyond the three-point line.
"I think Centennial came out ready to play and I think their experience of being here three of the last five years put them at ease, I guess, at the beginning of that game," CMW coach Jon Stefanides said. " I think we kind of struggled with the whole atmosphere for a little bit and I think once we calmed down a little bit, I guess we were down 22 or 23."
Mustangs junior guard Corey Bays scored the Mustangs first basket, but Centennial's senior guard Chad Strothers tossed in a three-pointer and the Eagles took off from there.
"The atmosphere really messed us up," Bays said. "Our depth perception shooting on the rim was definitely difficult and took us a little while to get going and they came out just hitting everything."
Centennial jumped ahead 10-4 and led 16-9 on Strothers' nine first-quarter points. The Eagles lead was 20-11 at the end of quarter, which ended with a scare.
Bays was ball-faked off his feet and came down hard on the floor. He was assisted off with what looked like an ankle injury.
The Mustangs, who played without starting point guard Will Hazelton for the entire first half, struggled with ball control at times. That, coupled with Centennial's shooting percentage, spelled problems.
CMW got seven first half points from junior guard Kyle Harkins. His lone second quarter basket made it 24-16, but Centennial answered with Isaiah White's three-pointer.
"I just went out there and played hard. I just tried to help out Corey and Mychal [Stefanides]. I knew they would focus on them two," Harkins said.
Centennial's biggest player, 6-5 forward Tom Brown, extended the lead to 34-20 with his three-point play with 2:20 to play in the half.
Jamal Worthington hit a three for CMW, but the Mustangs went to the half down 36-24.
Centennial then opened the second half with three straight baskets, upping the shooting percentage to near 70 percent and an 18-point lead.
CMW's press and the matchup zone defense had no effect on the Eagles, who scored from the paint and on fast break opportunities.
The Eagles built the lead to as much as 21 (51-30) and led 56-37 after three quarters.CMW 's senior guard, Mychal Stefanides, scored his first point with 1:32 left in the quarter. He added a three-pointer in the fourth, but fouled out in the final minute with just four points.
The Mustangs made a run of sorts in the fourth quarter, getting the deficit down to 11. Centennial, however, answered with timely baskets to keep the Mustangs from getting any closer.
Bays shook off the injury and led the Mustangs with 21 points. Harkins finished with 16. Dante Brown added nine points and seven rebounds.
Strothers and Isaiah White each scored 19 points to pace Centennial, while Elijah White and Connor Clemens added 10 each. Brown had 10 rebounds for the Eagles.
"We beat a very good basketball team today," Centennial coach Chad Hollwedel said. "They had a great season coming down here and a lot of credit to them and their hard work throughout the season."
The best CMW boys team in school history ends the season 22-2