Nobody will ever call Mike Weichert a ball hog.
The senior point guard for C. Milton Wright, Weichert never holds onto the ball long. He'd rather give it up than shoot.
In Tuesday night's 69-58 victory over North Harford, Weichert scored just two points, but he dished out 10 assists.
That boosted his season total to 98, ranking him second in the Baltimore metro area with an 8.9 per game average.
"I've never coached anybody who seesthe court as well as he does," said Mustangs coach George Constantine.
"He just sees the whole court. He's always looking. He's a totally unselfish ball player."
Weichert's assists are just part of a team effort that has turned the Mustangs from a 3-8 team this time last year into a 9-2 squad.
The Mustangs also had a 3-1 league record going into Friday night's game at Edgewood.
"We've all been playing together, so we have more experience this year," Weichert said.
"We know how to play together, and we know we can go inside and outside."
Weichert is not discriminating with his assists. He had two-- to Brian Gryzb for a 20-footer and to Billy Simmons for a layup -- as the Mustangs took command of Tuesday's game late in the third quarter. Those five points put the Mustangs ahead, 51-46.
Neither team had managed a lead of more than five points until the fourth quarter, when the Mustangs tightened up their defense and started to pull away. Gryzb opened with a short jumper as the Mustangs reeled off nine unanswered points.
Greg Stephen capped the run with a layup on afeed from Weichert. That gave C. Milton Wright a 60-51 lead with 2 minutes, 19 seconds left.
"When we get on a run like that, we seem to play as well defensively as we do offensively," Constantine said.
One key for the Mustangs was holding Bill O'Patterson, who leads the Hawks with a 17.9 scoring average, to six points in the game.
For the first 5:50 of the quarter, the Hawks couldn't get anything to go their way. They missed all six shots and turned the ball over six times. They managed only two rebounds in that stretch, to nine for the Mustangs.
"We gave up some easy baskets," said North Harford coach Charles Griffith. "We gave them a lot of second shot opportunities. We didn't do a good job boxing out. They're a patient team and theywork the ball and you've got to be patient on defense."
But the Mustangs had enough offensive weapons to outwit the Hawks defense. Gryzb scored a game-high 22 points, mostly from the outside. Inside, Simmons added 18 and Stephen had 11, while Damon Kennard came off the bench to score 10 in the first half.
For North Harford, Brandon Greene scored 19 and had five assists. Rob Kaun added 12 points and DamonRoberts had 10.
The Hawks have also improved greatly over last year. They have already matched last season's win total. Their overall record stands at 5-5 while their league record dropped to 2-2.
"We're playing together as a team," said Greene, who hit six of seven shots from the field in the first half. "We don't have a one-man team like we did last year. Everybody is scoring. It's a joint effort."