Laronja Owens, the returning All-Metro guard and Anne Arundel County Player of the Year, pumped in 11 of his game-high 28 points in the first period and No. 6 Annapolis went on to rout St. Mary's, 71-42, last night.
Owens' scoring partner, 6-foot-7 senior Josh Johnson, had 16 points to go with seven rebounds and two blocked shots. And constantly improving junior Darius Johnson had nine points, 10 rebounds, two blocks and two steals in a fine all-around game.
The host Panthers (3-1) came out firing, turning five of seven turnovers by the Saints (5-2) into 11 points to take a 23-10 lead after eight minutes. Owens had nine of those 11 points.
Owens, who had 11 rebounds, eight on the defensive side to go with four steals and four assists, hit six of 10 from the field in the first half for 15 points and a 37-22 Annapolis lead.
"I thought we got real shots," said Panthers coach John Brady.
"We did a good job getting the ball to people in positions where they could score. I love the fact we are playing hard on both ends."
The lead ballooned to 29 points at 55-26 after the third period and got as high as 34 points in the last eight minutes.
"They [Annapolis] just shot well and we didn't shoot as well," said St. Mary's coach Roger Reed, whose team is playing seven games in nine days.
"And they did a good job on getting a lot of second shots and controlled the boards. They literally controlled every phase of the game. And Owens and Johnson were the key players. They must have had more than half of their points."
The numbers backed up Reed as Owens and Johnson combined for 44.
Annapolis shot a torrid 59 percent in the first period, landing 10 of 17 shots, and was 16-for-30 (53 percent) at the half.
The Panthers shot 48 percent for the game, sinking 32 of 67 attempts, while the Saints shot just 28 percent on 17-for-60 from the field.
"But we just didn't have enough and were lacking the chemistry we normally play with," said Reed, whose Saints play in the Maryland Interscholastic Athletic Association B Conference.
"We didn't quit and they competed the whole way. Marcus tried to get us going."
Saints senior guard Marcus Perry was the only Saint in double figures with 16 points, 11 coming in the first half.
Jeff Postell, a 6-5 senior center, never got untracked and was stuffed a few times by Johnson. Postell finished with four points and four rebounds.