Don't count Broadneck among the teams that suffer letdowns after a big game.
The No. 13 Bruins came into No. 10 Arundel in Gambrills last night and outscored the host Wildcats 44-16 in the second half and coasted to a surprisingly easy 68-44 victory.
The Broadneck victory left both teams 3-1 overall and came on the heels of Saturday's 78-56 loss to top-ranked Lake Clifton in the Fuel Fund Classic. Broadneck showed no after- effects and played with poise and confidence in dominating the statistics.
Down by 28-24 at the half, the Bruins, who shot only 33 percent Saturday but 23-for-50 (46 percent) last night, went on runs of 19-9 and 25-7 in the final two periods.
"We were as well focused for this game as any game we've played the last couple years," said Broadneck coach Ken Kazmarek. "We really picked up the intensity level in the second half and went to our power game and got the ball down to Jamaine [Young] and Josh [Grover]."
"And you can't say enough about Jason Smith and the way he keeps the tempo in our favor."
Smith had a game-high 21 points (13 in the first half) and eight assists, and Young scored 17 of his 19 points in the second half, grabbed nine rebounds and had three steals. The 6-foot-10 Grover had 10 points, three blocks and a game-high 10 rebounds.
Young, Grover and Renardo Walker, who had nine rebounds to go with his seven points, controlled the boards as the Bruins outrebounded the home team, 35-24.
"I told you before the Lake Clifton game that I wasn't worried about this team going from the No. 1 team to a big county game," said Kazmarek. "This is a mentally strong group of kids who didn't let Saturday bother them."
Young attributed his success to the team's chemistry and said, "We couldn't let Saturday effect us and we were pumped up tonight to play a team ranked ahead of us."
Arundel got 19 of its 28 first-half points from Bakari Ward (team-high 13 points, two blocks, two steals), Marquise Farmer (eight points, seven rebounds) and Mitchell Martin (eight points, three assists, four rebounds and two steals).
The Wildcats outrebounded the Bruins 16-10 in the first half, before Young, Grover and Walker asserted themselves inside in the third period and took over in the last period when Farmer fouled out in the first minute.
Broadneck also had an advantage on the line, making 19 of 34 free throws compared with Arundel's 11 of 28. Even more discouraging for Arundel coach Gerald Moore and his Wildcats was their 16-for-51 (31 percent) from the floor.
"When you turn the ball over and shoot like that, you can't expect to win, but it's a long season," said Moore.