Arundel stole this game from Meade.
The 11th-ranked Wildcats came up with 21 steals and forced 30 turnovers, and Bakari Ward scored 27 points and Kevin Higgins added 15 points and nine steals to give host Arundel a season-opening 72-51 victory over Meade in an Anne Arundel County 4A game last night.
Meade (1-1, 0-1), which defeated nationally ranked Suitland earlier this week, kept things close early. The game was tied at 22 with 2:25 left in the second quarter.
Arundel had struggled early on offense and defense. The Wildcats played well at times defensively, but weren't consistent.
"We didn't have a good defensive first half," said Arundel coach Gerald Moore. "We just had to get heated up."
The Wildcats then stepped up the pressure. Higgins and Ward began pushing the Meade backcourt and making it more difficult to bring the ball up court. The steals and turnovers began coming quickly.
Ward then scored six as Arundel ended the half with a 10-2 run. The Mustangs hurt themselves by committing five turnovers in that last two minutes.
The turnovers continued in the second half. Meade gave it up fTC seven times on 11 possessions in one stretch late in the third quarter and early in the fourth.
That's when Arundel blew the game open. Despite having transfer Marquise Farmer (five points) on the bench most of the second half with foul trouble, the Wildcats went on a 27-7 run for a 63-35 lead early in the fourth quarter.
Several of the Arundel baskets came as a result of the turnovers, and the Wildcats repeatedly came up with wide-open layups.
"We picked them up full court," said Ward. "We put more pressure on the guards."
Arundel stayed in a man-to-man most of the way, but put plenty of pressure on the Mustangs. The Wildcats sometimes trapped, sometimes went to full-court pressure and other times half-court pressure. No matter what they did, Meade could not handle it.
"We did not take care of the ball," said Meade coach Butch Young, whose team was led by Andre Hiers (12 points) and Wes Riddick (11). "We were out of sync offensively."
Young also said Arundel hurt his team on the boards. The Wildcats out-rebounded Meade, 44-33, and grabbed several offensive rebounds. Ward (six rebounds), Farmer (five) and Higgins (five) paced the Arundel rebounders.
Arundel, which also got 12 points from Darnerien McCants, leaned heavily on Ward. The 5-foot-9 senior captain spent most of the game flying through the lane, making a variety of left-handed shots.
He scored the first seven points of the fourth quarter -- in the first 53 seconds of the period -- to help the Wildcats stretch their lead to 25 and put the game out of reach.
"When my captain steps up, we all step up," said Moore.