If there were any doubts as to what team this year's county title goes through, Centennial provided an emphatic answer Friday.
On the road, in front of a packed gym at Wilde Lake, the Eagles came out and dominated from start to finish to earn an 85-60 victory and maintain sole possession of first place in the county standings.
"We've been looking for that complete game effort and this was a great time to put it all together," Centennial coach Chad Hollwedel said. "I'm just so proud of the kids. This was a big game, at the end of a big week, and they came out and showed what they're capable of."
Omari Ringgold (26 points) and Keonte Potts (21) were the leaders for Centennial (10-1, 10-3), but on a night where the Eagles snapped Wilde Lake's nine-game winning streak contributions came from everywhere. Eight different players scored and as a team they forced Wilde Lake (8-3, 10-3) into 23 turnovers.
"Centennial played like the No. 1 team tonight … they were clicking on all cylinders," Wilde Lake coach Deon Wingfield said. "I take my hat off to them. They gave us a big slice of humble pie."
It took just two minutes for Centennial to set the tone against the Wildecats, opening the game with seven straight points.
From there, the Eagles kept going on their way to a 22-13 lead after the first quarter.
"They came out and jumped up on us 7-0 and we never quite responded," Wingfield said. "Everything they did after that, built from those first few minutes."
Wilde Lake did hang around at the beginning of the second, getting a three-point play from Dante Garner (26 points) and a lay-up by Antoine Barnes (11) to make it 27-20 with 5:15 left before halftime.
But in that closing stretch before the break, Centennial pulled away for good. A 14-1 run put the Eagles ahead by 20.
"Defense and rebounding was the difference," Hollwedel said. "It seemed like every run we made, that's what sparked us."
It was Centennial's supporting group that helped keep the lead around 20 most of the third quarter. Joe Eads (11 points, 9 rebounds) and Timi Tinuoye (12 points), in particular, battled on the glass and in transition for easy baskets.
Then in the fourth quarter, Ringgold took over with 12 points in a span of three minutes to open up a 30-point lead, 73-43.
"It was all about staying aggressive and keep attacking," Ringgold said. "We never let up and let them get back into it."
The Eagles' final total of 85 points was a season high.
Wilde Lake, meanwhile, falls into third place in the league behind Centennial and Marriotts Ridge (9-2, 11-2). In the long term, though, Wingfield says the lessons learned Friday should prove beneficial for the Wildecats.
"I hate to say it, but this is probably what we needed to come back to the reality that we still have some work to do to be the team I know we can be," Wingfield said. "Tonight was a wake up call. We're moving in the right direction, we're just not quite there yet."
Centennial 85, Wilde Lake 60
C (10-1, 10-3): Ringgold 26, Potts 21, Tinuoye 12, Eads 11, Goldsmith 6, Klima 4, Ruygrok 3, DeVries 2.
WL (8-3, 10-3): Dante Garner 26, Barnes 11, Devaughn Garner 7, Miller 7, Calloway 3, Parris 2, Williams 2, Mynatt 2.
Half: 41-21 C.
Other scores:
River Hill 69, Oakland Mills 59
It took playing a completely different style of game than they're used to, but the Hawks ran their way to the team's second victory of the season Friday.
Beating visiting Oakland Mills up and down the floor most of the second half, River Hill set a new season-high for points with 69. In fact, before Friday, the Hawks (which average 44 points a game) hadn't even had a game where they scored in the 60s.
"I noticed, especially in the second half, when we were rebounding the ball, they were delayed getting back so we started pushing it," River Hill coach Matt Graves said. "We were getting down the floor and getting some easy ones in transition … taking advantage of having four ball handlers out there."
After scoring just 28 points in the first half, River Hill exploded for 40 after intermission.
Charlie Thomas (18 points, 14 rebounds) and Walt Moody (19 points, 11 rebounds) did a lot of the heavy lifting for the Hawks, but Gary Sandler (13 points) and Corey Ruben (12 points) also chipped in offensively with big nights.
In the early stages, it was Oakland Mills that was in control. Antonio Manns (29 points) scored 14 in the first 10 minutes to help stake the Scorpions to a 24-13 lead.
River Hill had cut into the lead by the end of the second quarter, but still trailed by three, 31-28.
It was the start of the second half, though, that ultimately proved to be the difference. On the backs of Moody and Thomas, the Hawks outscored Oakland Mills 11-3 in the first five minutes after the break to take a 39-34 lead.
"I think the kids are sick of the same picture we've been seeing in most of out games, where we're competitive for a half and then we come out in the third quarter and the other team goes on a run to put us away," Graves said. "Tonight, we reversed it. We were the ones that came out strong and built confidence."
Oakland Mills made a couple runs the rest of the way, but River Hill never lost its advantage.
RH (2-9, 2-11): Moody 19, Thomas 18, Sandler 13, Ruben 12, Check 3, Qiu 2, Rivera 2.
OM (3-8, 5-9): Manns 29, Madden-Stricker 8, Tapscott 8, N. Zayatz 8, Lee 6.
Half: 31-28 OM.
Marriotts Ridge 49, Howard 48
Sean Harrison scored just one point, but that foul shot with eight seconds left ended up as the difference in a one-point Mustang victory. As a team, Marriotts Ridge scored just 15 points in the second half after leading 34-27 at the break.
Arjun Patel led the way with 12 points for the Mustangs, while Kendall Hawkins led Howard with 11 points.
MR (9-2, 11-2): Patel 12, Tucker 10, Davis 6, Miller 6, Brown 6, Durham 5, Menker 2, Harrison 1, Delaney 1.
Ho (4-7, 4-9): K. Hawkins 11, Wendt 10, Dyer 8, Alexander 6, J. Bartnik 4, Marsh 3, Crisco 2, J. Hawkins 2, D. Bartnik 2.
Half: 34-27 MR.
Mt. Hebron 51, Reservoir 38
MH (5-6, 6-6): Gilmore 14, Moses 11, Mohilchock 10, Jenkins 10, Shade 2, Woodard 2.
Re (4-7, 5-8): Usher 13, Booth 10, Williams 8, Sponsky 4, Toler 3.
Half: 20-18 MH.
Long Reach 56, Glenelg 45
LR (6-5, 7-7): Nowlin 25, Hargrove 12, Taylor 8, Allmond 4, Leconte 4, Nwankwo 2, Betters 1.
G (3-8, 3-11): Chahine 13, Spurrier 9, Dubbe 8, Randle 7, Hammert 6, Oates 2.
Half: 27-20 LR.
Atholton 61, Hammond 52
A (7-4, 10-4): Stephenson 28, Fitzpatrick 15, McMahon 8, Martin 4, Shapiro 2, Haas 2, Acker 2,
Ha (5-6, 6-8): Green 22, Turner 9, Echols 9, Hendrick 4, Poston 3, Washington 3, Lashley 2,
Half: 30-21 Ha.
Pallotti 69, Chapelgate 47
P: Smith 5, Bright 4, Lyle 4, Owens 8, Burnett 9, Scott 12, Reed 16, Holland 7, White 4.
Ch (3-6, 7-9): Frierson 11, Lawrence 6, Bryant 6, Harris-Winn 12, Obi 2, Grandy 10.
Half: 33-25 P.
Glenelg Country 76, McDonogh 74
Mount St. Joseph 69, Glenelg Country 64 (Thursday)
MSJ: Booth 23, Williams 17, Long 12, Adams 7, Doran 6, Jones 2, Lawrence 2.
GC: Jove-Vives 17, Powers 16, Moune 14, Barnard 6, Jones 6, Boyd 4.
