Aberdeen boys basketball holds off Wilde Lake, 66-60

A huge effort from Myles Douglas, along with some key missed foul shots by Wilde Lake, helped Aberdeen pick up a key early-season road victory in non-county play Tuesday evening.

Douglas poured in a game-high 24 points and the Eagles held off a second-half push by the Wildecats to earn a 66-60 victory. Wilde Lake, which was led by 23 points from Marquis Bullett, ultimately didn't do itself any favors from the free throw line — making less than 50 percent on the game (15-33).

"Aberdeen is a good basketball team, but we were right there," Wilde Lake coach Deon Wingfield said. "Toward the end of the game, at a crucial point, we just couldn't make any free throws. And it's actually pretty weird because we have been emphasizing that in practice, but tonight the guys who we usually rely on to knock them down were missing."

It was the second straight loss for Wilde Lake (1-0, 1-2) after opening the year with a win over River Hill.

Aberdeen, which also got eight points apiece from starters Antwan Thompson and Ishaun Bryant, had itself a 30-27 lead at the half. Wilde Lake recovered out of the break, however, to take an eight-point lead midway through the third quarter.

But the Eagles ended up answering in the late stages of that third period to retake the lead and then never lost it the rest of the way.

Nick David (16 points) ended up with a strong game as well in the losing effort for Wilde Lake. Both he and Bullett did a nice job finishing around the rim, according to Wingfield.

While disappointed in the loss, Wingfield said afterward that he does see positive strides from this group.

"I do think we are getting better, even though the results weren't there tonight," he said. "If we just clean up some of these simple mistakes, like if just make half of the foul shots we missed, tonight would have been a different story. I think we still can do some really good things in the county this year."

Aberdeen 66, Wilde Lake 60

A: Douglass 24, Thompson 8, Stephens 8, Bryant 8, Lacoste 5, Brown 4, Howard 4, Myers 2.

WL (1-0, 1-2): Bullet 23, David 16, Nicholas 6, Keys 6, Green 3, Barnes 3, Joseph 2.

Half: 30-27 A.