Shaking off foul trouble and a rough rebounding night, Centennial capitalized on a fast start and a strong finish to knock off Long Reach, 62-49, on the road Friday night.
It was the fourth win in a row to open the season for an Eagles team that sits as the last unbeaten squad in the county.
"We really got out of our rotation because of foul trouble … it really changed what we like to do," Centennial coach Chad Hollwedel said. "But I'm very happy being able to get out of here with this. Long Reach played incredibly hard after being down early."
Centennial raced out of the gates, scoring the first 13 points of the game and building a 21-4 advantage early in the second quarter. Keonte Potts (23 points) and Ben Goldsmith (12) keyed the hot start and were instrumental parts of an Eagle defense that forced more than 20 turnovers on the night and made Long Reach work for everything it got on the offensive end.
Particularly Potts, who struggled with his shot at times throughout the game, wreaked havoc. The senior ended up with seven steals, five of which either ended in a lay-up or got him to the foul line.
"He still found a way to get it done despite not necessarily shooting his best tonight," Hollwedel said. "He's growing as a player … and I thought this was by far his best defensive game of the year."
Long Reach didn't roll over, however, despite the early 17-point deficit.
The Lightning offense finally got going behind Daquan Hargove (15 points and 12 rebounds) and DeVaughn Nowlin (18 points) and in the latter half of the quarter Long Reach managed a 10-0 spurt to pull back within five, 26-21.
Just as the crowd got back into it, though, Centennial's Potts quieted them by closing the half with six straight points to make it 32-21 at the break.
The third quarter was fairly even, with Long Reach ultimately trimming another two points off the lead.
But any real comeback hopes were dashed when Centennial opened the fourth quarter with nine straight points. Long Reach did get back with seven with 2:21 left, before the Eagles extended things again to the final 13-point margin.
There were some positives in defeat for Long Reach (2-2, 3-2), which was playing without injured starting point guard Jalen Brown.
The Lightning had attacked the basket well, forcing the Eagles' big men to the bench with three fouls apiece in the early stages of the third quarter, and had won the battle on the glass 43-31. Avery Allmond joined Hargrove in double-digit rebounds with 11.
Omari Ringgold was Cetennial's top rebounder with 11.
Centennial 62, Long Reach 49
C (4-0, 4-0): Potts 23, Goldsmith 12, Ringgold 7, Eads 6, Tinuoye 6, Klima 3, Adams 3, Peterson 2.
LR (2-2, 3-2): Nowlin 18, Hargrove 15, Allmond 7, Ross 6, Taylor 2, Leconte 1.
Half: 32-21 C.
Other scores:
Marriotts Ridge 65, Atholton 55
The Mustangs hit 18 of 24 foul shots in the final quarter to hold off the visiting Raiders. Arjun Patel (18 points) led the way for Marriotts Ridge, which built a 16-point lead over the first 24 minutes.
Gavin Stephenson was the leading scorer for Atholton with 15 points.
MR (3-1, 3-1): Patel 18, Tucker 13, Davis 13, Delaney 8, Harrison 5, Menker 3, Durham 3, Miller 2.
A (2-2, 3-2): Stephenson 15, Shapiro 11, Bernetti 9, Haas 8, Fitzpatrick 7, Florenzo 3, Courtney 2.
Half: 28-18 MR.
Reservoir 61, Howard 49 OT
The Gators hit a pair of threes and six foul shots in overtime, while holding the Lions scoreless, to earn a 12-point win on the road. Joey Usher and Keyon Booth each had 14 points for Reservoir, while James Bartnik led Howard with 15.
Re (3-1, 3-1): Booth 14, Usher 14, Christian 9, Jackson 9, Toler 9, Williams 4, Epps 2.
Ho (1-3, 1-3): Bartnik 15, Marsh 10, Dyer 7, Alexander 7, Wendt 4, K. Hawkins 4, Mills 2.
Half: 27-25 Re; End of Regulation: 49-49.
Wilde Lake 89, Oakland Mills 59
The Wildecats were actually trailing 10-9 after the first eight minutes before exploding for 42 points in the second quarter to break the game wide open. Wilde Lake forced 17 turnovers during the quarter.
"We finally had the whole team together, getting a couple guys back from injuries, and the kids were really excited to play," coach Deon Wingfield said. "I told them that if we commit to being a team and playing team defense, this is how good we can be. We've seen our potential now."
Devaughn Garner led the way with 26 points for Wilde Lake, while his brother Dante chipped in with 15. Antonio Manns finished with a game-high 28 points for Oakland Mills.
WL (2-2, 2-2): Williams 5, Burgess 9, Miller 14, Calloway 4, Handy 7, Barnes 5, Devaughn Garner 26, Mathews 2, Dante Garner 15, Parris 2.
OM (1-3, 1-4): Manns 28, Bradley 4, J. Zayatz 7, N. Zayatz 4, Dent 2, Madden-Stricker 2, Russell 6, Mountain 2, Tapscott 2, Riss 2.
Half: 51-29 WL.
Mt. Hebron 52, River Hill 41
MH (3-1, 4-1): Moses 22, Woodard 16, Mohilchock 6, Gilmore 6, Jenkins 2.
RH (0-4, 0-4): Moody 13, Thomas 12, Ruben 6, Qui 5, Check 5.
Half: 27-20 MH.
Hammond 67, Glenelg 55
Ha (2-2, 2-3): Green 26, Echols 21, Blackwell 6, Turner 6, Lashley 4, Woodland 4.
G (1-3, 1-4): Spurrier 22, Tolbert 10, Hammert 6, Chahine 2, Oates 1, Dubbe 3, Randle 8, Mirano 3.
Half: 30-23 Ha.
Annapolis Area Christian 54, Chapelgate 41
AAC: Lipinksi 17, Leabhart 14, Toney 11, Nwosu 7, Tucker 5.
Ch (3-2, 6-4): Bryant 16, Harris-Winn 11, Grandy 10, Obi 2, Sikka 2.
Half: 30-20 AAC.
Glenelg Country 94, West Nottingham 17 (Thursday)
GC (1-1, 5-2): Jones 20, Barnard 16, Davis 14, Boyd 10, Powers 10, McCoy 8, Flores 6, Moune 6, Clifton 4.
WN: Parr 4, Tinne 4, Operaji 3, O'Connor 2, Young 2, Zhu 2.
Half: 48-15 GC.