A little neighborhood rivalry sparked Howard to its most complete effort of the season on Thursday night.
Racing out of the gates to a double-digit lead on visiting Long Reach in the opening four minutes of the game, the Lions never took their foot off the accelerator the rest of the way en route to a 74-45 victory. Against a Lightning team that had beaten it earlier this season by double digits, Howard (7-10, 9-11) had payback on its mind.
"We obviously wanted a little revenge from the first time because they really whooped us … we didn't wake up until the fourth quarter and they embarrassed us. But our guys came to play tonight," Howard coach Seth Willingham said. "Being at home helped, but it certainly didn't hurt that we were hitting our shots right from the start."
The Lions, who ended up having four guys score in double figures, couldn't miss in the first quarter. Patrick O'Malley (17 points) led the early charge with four quick 3-pointers, but overall as a team Howard shot over 80 percent from the floor in the first eight minutes on the way to a commanding 26-9 lead.
"Pat was hitting his shots and it got us fired up. We feed off him," said Howard's DJ Dawkins, who finished with a team-high 19 points. "Once we have ball movement, and everyone is touching the ball, shots go in."
Howard kept the ball rolling in the second quarter, getting strong supporting play from a couple guys off the bench — including George Greene (11 points) — to help push the lead up to 38-20 at the half.
Seven different guys scored in the first two quarters for the Lions.
"We play our best when everyone is involved and we have a lot of different guys that can shoot the ball from the outside," Willingham said. "It helps when one gets going, like Pat did, and the other guys can then build off that."
Long Reach (7-10, 8-12) did show a little life coming out of halftime behind Ron Carter (15 points) on the interior. The Lightning got back within 10 points, 42-32, in the first three minutes of the third quarter.
But just as quickly as Long Reach had cut its deficit, Howard was able to pull away once again. An old-fashioned three-point play by Walter Okoye, who finished the game with a career-high 12 points, made it 52-36 at the end of the third quarter.
Then, in the fourth quarter, Howard poured it on by outscoring the Lightning 22-9.
The win marked the largest margin of victory this season for the Lions.
"I know the results haven't always shown in the win column, but these kids show up every day and work so hard for us coaches," Willingham said. "They deserve this win and should enjoy it."
Willingham also added that this is the kind of game his team needed with the playoffs approaching.
"We have two tough games next week to close the regular season with Reservoir and River Hill, so confidence wise this is huge for them," he said. "And, you know, we are in a tough region (for playoffs), but I've seen all the teams we could play and if we play the way we did tonight, we can beat any of those teams. We are going to be a tough team to put out."
Howard 74, Long Reach 45
Ho (7-10, 9-11): Dawkins 19, O'Malley 17, Okoye 12, Greene 11, Shuart 7, Savage 4, Noble 4.
LR (7-10, 8-12): Carter 15, Avery 9, Duckett 9, Clark 6, Lamar 4, Perez 2.
Half: 38-20 Ho.
Other scores:
Glenelg 67, Mt. Hebron 59
G (7-10, 9-11): Napolitano 23, Hammert 14, Oates 11, Van de Wall 9, Wade 6, Conners 2, Heigh 2.
MH (10-7, 13-7): A. Smith 24, M. Smith 21, Madden 7, Bryant 4, Linsenmeyer 3.
Half: 39-20 G.
Oakland Mills 57, Marriotts Ridge 44
OM (15-2, 17-3): Ndiaye 18, Stanfield 11, Robinson Jr. 9, Hopkins 7, Kiely 5, Aaron 5, Harris 2.
MR (4-13, 5-15): Clipp 14, Caffes 10, Speelman 8, Koller 8, Curtain 4.
Half: 26-13 OM.
River Hill 58, Hammond 48
RH (12-5, 15-5): Thomas 12, Sandler 12, Martin 12, DiSimone 6, Gabel 5, Borucki 3, Heitzmann 3, Mitchell 3, Robinson 2.
Ha (2-15, 3-17): Whong 9, Ridgell 8, Wilcher 8, Johnson 7, L. Thomas 6, Nicholas 5, N. Moore 3, White 2.
Half: 33-22 RH.
Centennial 58, Wilde Lake 51
C (16-1, 18-2): Brown 18, Strothers 11, White 11, Clemens 7, White 6, Geist 3, Wilson 2.
WL (1-16, 3-17): DeLarosa 24, Barnes 10, Cantwell 6, Ichrist 5, Jordan 4, Bowie 2.
Half: 22-18 WL.
Chapelgate 82, Mount Airy Christian 63
CCA (5-8, 13-14): Frierson 27, Madden 16, Grandy 14, Mitchell 11, Ball 10, Kilgour 2, Marvin 2.
MA: Pickett 20, Stein 15, Miller 11, Finch 10, Mellott 4, Twardzik 3.
Half: 39-30 CCA.