In its final tune-up before turning its attention to postseason play, Oakland Mills opened things up and had a little fun against Atholton on Monday night.
The Scorpions methodically built an early lead against the visiting Raiders and then put them away early in the second half with what senior Mamadou Ndiaye called a little "show time" on the way to a convincing 64-42 victory.
"Atholton is a slow-paced team, so we knew it was important to get the lead first. Then after that it was show time. Me and Will (Robinson Jr.) were dunking back and forth, the crowd got into it and then Daniel (Kiely) and Tre (Hopkins) finished it off," said Ndiaye, who finished with three of the team's seven dunks on the evening. "I actually think Daniel had the dunk of the game to end it off right in that fourth quarter."
Oakland Mills coach Jon Browne said, while it wasn't a perfect game, there were definitely some encouraging things to build on going into the playoffs.
"It was fun … and I was definitely excited about what we did for most of the game," Browne said. "You know, that's a good ending for us. In a game that really meant nothing to either team, we got out here and came to play."
Robinson led the way with 24 points, while Ndiaye added 11 and Kiely had 10 in what is the fourth straight win for Oakland Mills (17-2, 19-3) to close the regular season.
Atholton (10-9, 12-10), which was down by as many as 24 points in the third quarter, did make a push to get all the way back within nine, midway through the fourth. But the Scorpions quickly answered with a 10-0 run to officially put the game away.
Brandon Willis led the way in the loss with a game-high 25 points for the Raiders.
Oakland Mills will be the top seed in its section of the 2A South region playoffs that begin at the end of this week. After losing in the region finals last season, the team knows that it's time to lock in.
"Our goal is to get to that championship and win it, so we've got to be focused and take every day seriously," Ndiaye said. "If we play hard, listen to coach, I think we have a really good chance to accomplish all our goals."
Oakland Mills 64, Atholton 42
OM (17-2, 19-3): Robinson Jr. 24, Ndiaye 11, Kiely 10, Williams-Day 7, Aaron 6, Hopkins 4, Smith 2.
A (10-9, 12-10): Willis 25, Waterworth 6, Carter 4, Kelly 3, Washington 2, Rodgers 2.
Half: 23-11 OM.
Other scores:
Montrose Christian 88, Chapelgate 51
MC: Taylor 17, Moore 14, Wilson 14, Queen 11, DePollar 10, Washington 9, Oliver 6, Lewis 3, Okwara 2, Bartley 2.
CCA (5-8, 13-15): Frierson 20, Grandy 18, Ball 4, Mitchell 4, Marvin 3, Madden 2.
Half: 38-27 MC.