Annapolis held a Christmas party at Southern's expense last night with the trio of Laronja Owens, Josh Johnson and Darius Johnson lighting up the Panthers.

Owens tossed in a game-high 23 points and the Johnsons (no relation) combined for 36 as the host and No. 6 Panthers routed No. 12 Southern of Harwood, 85-59.

In addition to his points, Owens had a typical game with eight rebounds, a blocked shot, seven steals and five assists.

It was the 61st consecutive win by Annapolis (4-1) over an Anne Arundel County team, but was extra sweet because it came over the rival Bulldogs.

Annapolis played its best overall game of the young season over one of the better Southern teams in recent years despite its 1-3 start.

"It was a good win because of foul trouble and guys getting hurt," said Annapolis coach John Brady, who lost junior forward Elliott Devoe to a sprained ankle in the second half.

"Southern does a real good job with their zone, but we basically had five guards out there and they did a real good job. I was worried about our rebounding."

But the Panthers out-rebounded the Bulldogs, 42-25, and were 13-for-13 from the line.

"People were underestimating us, even some people in our school saying, 'Adrian is going to crush you' and all that," said Josh Johnson, a 6-foot-7 senior center who outplayed the Bulldogs' 6-6 senior Adrian Gross.

"Man, I had foul trouble [four late in the third period], but my teammates stepped up. They were worried about me, but everybody took care of that and started making buckets. I went out to play hard against Adrian."

Johnson sure did, finishing up with 16 points - 14 in the first half before getting into foul trouble - a game-high 14 rebounds and three blocked shots.

Gross was constantly forced out of the paint and had 14 points and seven rebounds.

Johnson had 10 of his points on put-backs and nine offensive rebounds - seven in the first half as the Panthers pulled away just before the break.

"It started just before the end of the half with us not doing the things we said we were going to do and we stopped playing as a unit," said Southern coach Tom Albright, referring to his team going from a 34-33 deficit to a 46-37 hole after two periods.

Matt Hall had 16 of his 18 points in the first half, and was one of those who stopped doing what he had been doing in the first half, according to Albright.

Annapolis started the second half with a 14-2 run to build a 60-39 lead.

"I was kind of mad sitting on the bench most of the first two quarters with two fouls," said Darius Johnson, an 18-year-old junior who is playing his last high school season. "So, I tried to redeem myself."

Johnson scored eight points in each of the final two periods and grabbed all seven of his rebounds during that time.