COLLEGE PARK -- It's tough to beat a team that is playing near-perfect ball.
When your opponent scores on its first seven trips up the floor, and one of its best players makes all nine of his field goals in the first half, the chances are good that you're in for a long evening.
That was the situation facing 20th-ranked Aberdeen (21-6) against Frederick's Thomas Johnson in yesterday's 101-60 Class 3A state semifinal blowout at Cole Field House.
Thomas Johnson sophomore Marcus West scored 24 points on 11-for-13 field goal shooting in only two-thirds of the action. He left the game midway through the third period after crashing hard to the floor.
However, West, who is expected to return for tomorrow's championship game, already had done heavy damage by going 8-for-8 from the field and 1-for-1 from the foul line in the first period. For the game, West single-handedly out-scored the Eagles from the foul line, 17-13.
In fact, the Patriots' 34 first-period points were more than the Eagles scored in the entire half. Aberdeen trailed, 34-13, heading into the second quarter and simply could not make up the difference.
The Patriots (26-1), who won their ninth straight game, placed seven players in double figures. In addition to 24 by West, Chris Williams had 18 points and Michael Foreman 14. Adam Dickman and Ron Wells had 11 points each, and Joe Higbee and Jermaine Thomas had 10 each.
The win was the 505th for coach Tom Dickman. In his 25th season, Dickman goes after his seventh state title in his 12th playoff appearance at 3 p.m. tomorrow against Prince George's County's Gwynn Park. The Yellow Jackets (13-13) beat City, 62-60, in yesterday's other semifinal.
"We got off to a great start, but we've been shooting well all year," said Dickman, whose team's only loss was to Virginia's Oak Hill Academy, ranked No. 1 nationally by USA Today. "This is typical of how our kids have played all year, but it wouldn't have discouraged me if we were down 9-0."
There was no danger of that with West, whose second-period three-pointer made him 9-for-9 from the field in the first half and gave the Patriots a 55-32 lead.
Thomas Johnson led 76-48 entering the fourth period, when Dickman began inserting his substitutes.
Bill Guy (17 points) and Stephon Watson (14) led Aberdeen, which was in its 14th playoff appearance but its first under coach Richard Hart, who took over this season.
Thomas Johnson made its first seven field goals, three by West, for an 8-0 lead that forced an Aberdeen timeout with 7: 11 showing.
"We were down 8-0 before we could even catch our breath," said Hart. "There's no question how talented they are and how well they work together, but some of what happened had to do with how comfortable they were coming out, and how, for us, it was a new thing."
Pub Date: 3/12/99