Friday was a night of close calls for two Harford County boys basketball teams.
C. Milton Wright needed overtime to beat Joppatowne and North Harford held off a second half surge by North East. Havre de Grace had a relatively easier win, 52-44, over Rising Sun.
Joppatowne's Jermaine Head, who led the Mariners with 26 points, hit a 30-foot shot at the buzzer, tying the score at 76 and sending the game to overtime. The Mariners led CMW, 32-29, at the half, lost the lead and extended the game at the last possible moment. CMW won the overtime thriller, 89-84.
Mychal Stefanides led all scorers with 30 points for CMW. Corey Bays added 20.
In addition to Head, three other Joppatowne players reached double figures: Dominic Smith had 15 points, Montrell Horsey had 13 and Jakobi Bruce had 10. Rashaad Gore added nine and Rayquan Demby had seven.
North Harford was up by a seemingly comfortable 14 points, 32-18, at halftime, but North East threatened that lead to the very end, before falling, 48-46.
"North East played really hard," North Harford Coach Kristopher Kapinos wrote in a text message.
Andrew Klapka scored 18 points and grabbed 10 rebounds to lead North Harford to victory. Brett Hurley scored 13 points and had 10 steals and Andrew Langan scored eight and Zach Stike had seven.
Havre de Grace got 15 points from Krs Yancy, 12 from Kenneth Sumpter and 11 points and 10 rebounds from Zayrron Blake in its win over Rising Sun.
C. Milton Wright and Edgewood were winners Thursday night in Harford County boys basketball.
Edgewood, led by 14 points from sophomore Darius Dangerfield, edged Harford Tech, 48-46. The game was equally close at halftime when Tech led, 23-21.
In addition to Dangerfield, who also had five assists and fives steals, Edgewood was led by seniors Fred Gordon, with 13 points and seven rebounds, and Hunter Norcross, with 11 points and eight rebounds.
Harford Christian traveled to CMW and had a promising start, leading the Mustangs by one at the half.
But Harford Christian didn't have an answer for the pressure and energy that CMW brought in the second half and lost, 89-55.
Dante Brown led the winners with 22 points. Corey Bays and Mychal Stefanides had 19 points each and Will Hazelton had 10.
Paul Franco led Harford Christian with 17 points, five steals and four rebounds. Sean Hughes had 10 points, 10 rebounds and six assists. Moe Epps had 12 points and six rebounds and Rashawd Clowney, a freshman, had 10 points and five rebounds. It was Harford Christian's first loss of the season and they fell to 5-1.
Harford Christian traveled to Elkton and won, 70-64.
Elkton jumped out to a six-point lead after the first quarter, but Harford Christian answered with a 28-point second quarter and led by seven at the half. The Eagles played solid in the third quarter, and withstood a late Elkton rally for the win. Epps led the team with 21 points, eight assists, six rebounds, six steals and three blocks. Sean Hughes had 16 points, 10 rebounds, seven assists, seven steals and four blocks. Clowney pitched in 12 points, 10 boards and three steals. The Eagles improved to 6-1.