It's taken nearly a month, but Marriotts Ridge is quietly developing the kind of balance its coach Mike Coughlan had envisioned.
For the second straight night at the Spartan Holiday Classic at Laurel, the Mustangs had four guys score in double digits. And for the second straight night, Marriotts Ridge picked up a double-digit victory - a 62-48 win over Crossland.
Before this week's holiday tournament action, the Mustangs (5-1, 7-1) had produced just one game with more than two guys scoring in double figures. For a team that's already been winning, Coughlan says spreading the scoring just makes it that much tougher.
"Our first two games it was all Arjun (Patel), I think he had like 36 and 28 (points), and even though we won, I knew long term we had to get the other guys going," he said. "It's taken a little bit, but you can see it coming together. We went from one scorer, to two, to two and a half, to three and these last couple games we've had four.
"The more guys we can get involved, the better we are going to be."
Against Crossland, D.J. Tucker led the way with 17 points. B.J. Durham (15 points), Robert Davis (13) and Patel (10) were close behind.
Marriotts Ridge never really ran away with things, but was in control from the onset. The Mustangs had an 11-8 lead after the first quarter and had upped its advantage to eight, 28-20, by the half.
At the end of the third, it was 43-33.
There was a small scoring drought to begin the fourth, with the Mustangs scoring just four points in the first four minutes of the quarter. But thanks to the team's defense holding Crossland without a point during that same stretch, the lead actually grew.
"From day one I have stressed to these kids that we are going to defend," Coughlan said. "If things aren't going well on the offensive end, defense can be the great equalizer."
Down the stretch, Marriotts Ridge managed to maintain a lead of a least seven points and ultimately earned the 14-point victory. On the first day of the tournament, the Mustangs had defeated host Laurel 86-75.
Marriotts Ridge 62, Crossland 48
MR (5-1, 7-1): Tucker 17, Durham 15, Davis 13, Patel 10, Kratochwill 3, Bryant 3, Harrison 1.
C (4-5): Mike Morgan 20, Williams 11, Wallace 4, Landis 3, Thomas 2, Malik Morgan 2, Duncan 2, Greene 2, Jackson 2.
Half: 28-20 MR.
Other scores:
Oakland Mills 61, Parkville 51
Combining for 63 points between the Scorpions' two tournament games, Antonio Manns was named tournament MVP. The Scorpions were ahead by two at halftime against Parkville before pulling away down the stretch for the double-digit victory, which was the team's third straight overall.
OM (2-4, 4-5): Manns 30, Dent 8, N. Zayatz 8, Bradley 7, Tapscott 6, Lee 1, Madden-Stricker 1.
P: Collins 10, Myles 9, McKoy 8, Milton 7, Pittman 6, Pullen 5, Griffen 3, Jackson 3.
Half: 26-24 OM.
Atholton 65, Patapsco 40
A: Stephenson 16, Fitzpatrick 10, Shapiro 10, McMahon 8, Martin 6, Florenzo 3, Acker 2, Courtney 2, Bernetti 2, Bezold 2, Haas 2, Kosoff 2.
P: Haley 15, Phillips 10, James 4, Clark 4, Spriggs 3, Robinson 2, Pritchett 2.
Half: 38-23 A.
Arundel 65, River Hill 46
A: Nicholson 28, Bryant 16, Frazier 8, Mack 6, Dunbar 4, Carroll 3.
RH (0-6, 0-7): Moody 13, Thomas 13, Richardson 9, Qiu 3, Ruben 3, Sandler 3, Check 2.
Half: 31-18 A.
Glenelg Country 79, Old Mill 71
GC (1-3, 6-5): Jove-Vives 25, Jones 18, Powers 12, Barnard 9, Boyd 6, Moune 6, Davis 2, Flores 1.
OM: Hinton 18, Salmond 17, Jackson 9, Ball 6, Evans 6, Jones 5, Baker 4, Shaw 4, Savage 2.
Half: 52-51 GC.