Unbeaten and 15th-ranked Atholton has three title missions this season: winning the county, state and its own holiday tournament for the first time in its four-year history.
Behind senior guard Brian Benden's team-high 20 points and senior center D.J. Chiles' double-double performance (17 points, rebounds), Atholton defeated Wilde Lake, 84-58, last night to move within a victory of winning the Raiders' Central Maryland Tournament.
Atholton will play Sherwood, a 67-54 winner over fellow Montgomery County rival Magruder, in today's 6 p.m. championship game. Wilde Lake (2-3) will meet Magruder at 4 p.m. in the consolation contest.
Atholton's first-half offensive show (44 points) eased momentary third-quarter sloppiness, but the Raiders' lead never dwindled below double figures throughout the second-half. Benden led four double-figure scorers for coach Jim Albert's team.
"I've got a lot of great teammates that get me the ball, and playing two-guard this year allows me the freedom to shoot it a bit more," said Benden, who finished 10 of 12 from the field.
"This is my third year playing in this tournament and we haven't won it yet. This year we're just trying to dominate."
Coach Paul Ellis' Wildecats were led by junior guard Will Eidson (21 points) and Brian Sterling (15), but the duo could not shut down Benden.
"He's a good shooter and we knew that coming in, but we just didn't do a good job defensing him," Ellis said. "Atholton's easily the best team we played all year. We'll just have to build upon our third-quarter play."
Atholton built a 44-24 halftime lead behind Benden's shooting perfectionThe two-time all-tournament player finished the first 16 minutes 8-for-8 from the field.
In the first boys game, Sherwood used a 30-point, second-quarter effort to take command with a 37-28 halftime lead. Sherwood's 6-foot-3 senior forward Rashad Minnis led all scorers with 19 points. Guard Ben Surprin paced Magruder with 16 points.
* Dunbar 62, Sanford (Del.) 40: Marvis Thornton scored 15, Jeryl Singletary added 14 and the Poets outscored Sanford, 44-26, in the second halfin the second day of the Slam Dunk to the Beach Tournament in Lewes, Del.
Tommy Polley added 12 points for the Poets (7-0), who finished 2-0 in the round-robin portion of the event's Power Series.