The New Town boys basketball team followed its game plan to a tee in the first half of its Baltimore County league showdown against Dulaney on Wednesday.
Highly energized and efficient at both ends, the home team had a stunning 24-point lead at halftime.
When the No. 8 Lions showed resilience and better focus in the second half, getting within striking distance, the No. 7 Titans made sure it stayed their night.
Senior guard Martaz Robinson, the season-long catalyst, was the difference once again. He finished with a game-high 28 points, and his final basket — a left-handed layup in traffic with 1:34 left — helped lead New Town to a 77-66 win over the Lions.
New Town improved to 12-1 and remained unbeaten in Baltimore County Division I play at 4-0, handing Dulaney (9-4, 4-1) its first league loss.
After hitting on all cylinders in the first half — including relentless defense and rebounding, along with a mix of 3-pointers and follow baskets — the Titans saw their big lead cut to 70-64 when Lions All-Metro senior guard Ryan Conway (19 points) hit a 3-pointer with 1:49 to play. On the Titans’ following possession, Robinson worked his way through the lane before going up strong with the left hand to score, and New Town closed out the win with six free throws.
“They came back on us — they hit us in the mouth real early [in the second half],” said Robinson, who added seven rebounds and six assists. “So we called timeout and calmed down. It’s a game of runs, so you just have to stick with it, you stop the run, you stop the bleeding and you keep pushing and play through it.”
In their biggest game of the season to date, the Titans came out ready with their best basketball. They jumped out to a 13-0 advantage behind Robinson and All-Metro forward Andrew Mills, who was aggressive on the boards early with a put-back and added a 3 pointer later in the run. Defensively, New Town kept the ball away from Conway, who only mustered four points in the first half.
With Conway getting on track in the second half, along with Jaylin Webster’s 19 points and some hot 3-point shooting from reserve Ethan Anderson, the Lions got within 10 points with 3:15 to play and pulled even closer before the Titans had the final say.
For Dulaney coach Matt Lochte, all the good work his team put into getting back in the second half took a back seat to the disappointing start. The Lions turned the ball over 19 times in the first half, and despite what he said was a good practice Thursday and a crisp pregame warmup, the Titans were the only team mentally prepared to play at the start.
“We dug ourselves too big of a hole,” he said. “With that being said, we said, ‘Lets go win the third quarter by 12 or 13,’ and we did. We put ourselves in a position where we then had to win the fourth quarter by 12 or 13 points. We sniffed it, we came close, we battled — the guys were much better in the second half. But again, we played so poorly in the first half — we’re not going to reach our goals playing a half like we did, period.”
Mills finished with 15 points and seven rebounds, while Twan Carter added 13 points and six boards for the Titans.
“We knew what they’re capable of so we wanted to punch them in the mouth early. We got a little complacent during the whole second half, but we had to pull it together and rally behind Martaz,” Mills said.
New Town will try to make it 13 wins in a row when it hosts Patapsco on Friday, while the Lions get right back on the court Thursday with a home game against Loch Raven.
NT – Mills 15, Robinson 28, K. Johnson 8, Carter 11, Marcano 13, G. Johnson 2. Totals: 28 13-19 77
D – Conway 19, Harper 2, Byers 12, Amoruso 5, Webster 16, McGee 2, Olajayi 2, Anderson 8. Totals: 25 11-14 66
Half: NT, 42-18