Seniors play in front of packed crowd at 2019 Howard County basketball all-star games

A near capacity crowd was on hand at Oakland Mills High on Wednesday night to watch Howard County’s senior boys and girls basketball players represent their schools one final time.

Over the course of the evening, three games were played — two boys match-ups and one girls — to go along with a 3-point shootout and a dunk contest.

The 3A/4A squad, which was made up of players from Atholton, Centennial, Chapelgate, Long Reach, Mt. Hebron and Reservoir, earned a 105-101 victory over the 2A team in the boys Top 24 game. Team One, made up of players from Reservoir, Long Reach, Glenelg Country and Marriotts Ridge, rolled to a 73-50 win in the girls senior game.

Earlier, in the boys game that kicked off the night, the senior recognition contest ended in a 123-123 tie between 3A/4A and 2A.

The 3-point shootout winners were Long Reach’s Jaelyn Swann and Mt. Hebron’s Brandon Prox. Both players hit 11 threes in 45 seconds. Oakland Mills’ Ke’Von Simpson was named winner of the dunk contest following a fan vote.

Boys Top 24

In the nightcap to the evening’s festivities, 3A/4A prevailed behind a game-high 19 points from Atholton’s Casey Parkins. The Raiders’ guard hit five 3-pointers.

Also finishing in double figures scoring for the winning team were Long Reach’s CJ Johnson (14 points), Mt. Hebron’s O’Dell Dickerson (12), Reservoir’s Josh Odunowo (12), Reservoir’s KyJuan McCallum (11) and Atholton’s Justin Oates (11).

On the other side, Oakland Mills’ Daeshawn Eaton led the way with 18 points. He was joined in double figures by Wilde Lake’s Trea Keys (16 points), Hammond’s Micah Henry (14), Glenelg’s Carson Dick (12) and Marriotts Ridge’s Cam Heard (10).

3A/4A 105, 2A 101

3A/4A: Parkins 19, Johnson 14, Dickerson 12, Odunowo 12, McCallum 11, Oates 11, Jackson 9, Cofield 7, Hollwedel 5, Prox 3, Toler 2.

1A/2A: Eaton 18, Keys 16, Henry 14, Dick 12, Heard 10, Wright 8, Okojie 7, Simpson 6, Piwowarski 6, Held 4.

Half: 60-52 3A/4A.

Girls Senior Game

Long Reach guard Malaya Streeter stole the show, coming off the bench to pour in a game-high 26 points courtesy of a mix of tough finishes around the basket to power her team to a convincing 23-point victory.

Her Lightning teammate Jaelyn Swann added 15 points — on five threes — to the winning effort. Marriotts Ridge’s Mallory Conroy also had a strong game with nine points in the victory.

On the other side, the team made up of Oakland Mills, Atholton and River Hill players had some strong individual efforts as well. Oakland Mills’ forward Kobie Scott-Pearson led her team with 14 points, while her Scorpions’ teammate Aislynn Riggs was right behind her with 13. Atholton’s Zhuri Cannnon added eight points.

Two of the county’s top seniors — Long Reach’s Lyric Swann (finger) and Reservoir’s Emily Dorn (illness) — were unable to play.

Team 1 73, Team 2 50

Team 1: Streeter 26, Swann 15, Conroy 9, Ford 6, Gillis 6, Thompson 5, Verna 2, Fourney 2, Aofolaju 2.

Team 2: Scott-Pearson 14, Riggs 13, Cannon 8, Grenway 5, King 5, Patel 3, Sowah 2.

Half: 37-16 Team 1.

Boys Senior Recognition

In the most thrilling game of the evening, the two teams ended in a tie following a back-and-forth final minute.

The 3A/4A squad took the lead by three following a 3-pointer by Centennial’s Michael Kefyalew (19 points) with 10 seconds left in the second half. But the 2A team pushed the ball up the floor and found Glenelg’s Ethan Chappell (18 points) in the left corner for a fade-away three as the buzzer sounded that found the bottom of the net and created the final 123-123 tie.

Officials decided there would be no overtime.

Overall, Atholton’s Maxwell Murray led the 3A/4A team with 24 points on eight made 3-pointers. Centennial’s Cameron Berkeley (21 points), Kefyalew, Long Reach’s Ramone Martin (14 points), Mt. Hebron’s Terrell Coleman (14) and Atholton’s Javon Daniel (13) also finished in double figures for their team.

Oakland Mills’ Frederick Eiland II led the 2A squad with 24 points, followed by Chappell, Marriotts Ridge’s Amari Little (17 points), Oakland Mills’ Jaelen Gayman (17), Marriotts Ridge’s Ryan Lee (13), Glenelg’s Hunter Koele (12) and Oakland Mills’ Adam Fairbanks (10).

3A/4A 123, 1A/2A 123

3A/4A: Murray 24, Berkeley 21, Kefyalew 19, Martin 14, Coleman 14, Daniel 13, Kinloch 7, Williams 6, Modeste 5.

1A/2A: Eiland 24, Chappell 18, Little 17, Gayman 17, Lee 13, Koele 12, Fairbanks 10, O’Brien 5, Uecker 4, Zimmerman 3.

Half: 51-46 3A/4A.