Broadneck seniors Josh Grover and Jason Smith know time is running out on their high school careers.
Both remember last year's loss to Douglass of Baltimore in the regional semifinals, and both want to make sure it doesn't happen again.
Last night, the No. 8 Bruins (20-2, 6-0) put on a dress rehearsal for the playoffs, taking an early lead and cruising to a 73-56 win over host South River (14-8, 4-2).
"We played very well tonight, probably the best I've seen all year," said Broadneck coach Ken Kazmarek. "It was tough for us, coming into an adverse place like this and playing this way. It showed where we are mentally ready for next week."
Smith said, "We just have to take it day by day the rest of the way. I was trying to use my head, and make sure we didn't make any dumb mistakes."
As usual, the Bruins were led by Smith, who contributed 22 points. South River was led by Russell Tongue (18 points) and Corey Davis (17 points).
Kazmarek said the value of Smith, a four-year starter for the Bruins, should not be underestimated.
"I think it's fair to say that all our success this year has come from Jason in one form or another," Kazmarek said. "He is my presence on the floor, and he does the little things that make a team successful."
The win gives the Bruins their second consecutive Anne Arundel County 2A-3A league title and the top seed in the 3A East region for next week's playoffs.
After a bye Monday, the Bruins will play host to the winner of Monday's Poly-Northern game, at Broadneck Wednesday at 7 p.m.
Early on, the Bruins took advantage of their height and strength, feeding the 6-foot-10 Grover (eight first-quarter points) and Renardo Walker (four first-quarter points) to build a 26-14 lead.
Broadneck ran the lead to 39-25 with 1:22 left in the half, but got sloppy with the ball, and the Seahawks scored the last six points of the half to cut the margin to eight, 39-31.
South River managed to cut the lead to five, 45-40, with 3:41 left in the third quarter, but the Bruins rallied to score the next four points and take the lead back to nine.
The Seahawks never got any closer than seven, 57-50, in the final quarter.
"We cut the lead to five points, but we couldn't get any closer," said South River coach Kenny Dunn.
"We tell our players that to win, you have to play with intensity and intelligence. We played with intensity, but they played with both, and that was the difference."
South River will open the playoffs at home Monday as the third seed in the 2A East region. They will play host to Southern-AA at 7 p.m.
"They outplayed us tonight. It was like a clinic," said Dunn. "They have a lot of talent on that team, and they played about as well as they could against us."