The Hereford boys made their first appearance in the Baltimore County championship game on Tuesday night and brought plenty of fans prepared to celebrate, but Woodlawn ruined the party.
No. 10 Hereford couldn't handle the Warriors' stifling defense, which shut down the Bulls all over the court and helped Woodlawn to a 57-44 victory in the title game at Towson University's SECU Arena.
TJ Owens led Woodlawn (15-6) with a game-high 17 points while teammate Cedric Mondjii added 15. This has been a big season for Hereford (18-4), and making the county title game was a dream, but the Warriors' defense turned much of the game into a nightmare.
"We wanted to keep them off-balance," Woodlawn coach Bobby Richardson said. "Let them figure us out on defense. My kids did a great job."
Hereford's offense, rarely could find an open shot as the Warriors threw so many looks at them.
Woodlawn used tough man-to-man defense in half-court situations and often double-teamed and trapped the Bulls from various angles. Woodlawn also used presses at times and wouldn't let Hereford get into any type of rhythm.
That's why the Bulls repeatedly found themselves trapped between two players and often took poor shots.
"We had to step up on defense," Owens said. "We knew that they had a lot of scorers, and we had to [play well]. We came up big."
Hereford also battled some nerves early in the game. The Bulls had five first-quarter turnovers and didn't really settle down until the second half. Hereford coach Jim Rhoads said Woodlawn's defense hurt his team.
"It was in-your-face tough; they played really well," he said. "But with fundamentals, we just weren't where we were last week."
Woodlawn had problems with fundamentals and turnovers early but quickly settled down. Owens made a 3-pointer 45 seconds into the period to give the Warriors a 14-11 lead, and they never trailed again.
Hereford center Aaron Gerschwilm picked up his second foul early in the quarter, and Rhoads pulled him until halftime. While he was on the bench, Woodlawn went on an 8-0 run en route to a 29-21 halftime lead.
The Bulls began causing more trouble on offense in the third quarter, doing a better job of driving to the basket and getting the ball into the paint. Guard Gabe Ceribelli (16 points), the one player that Woodlawn struggled to stop at times, hit a driving bank shot that cut the lead to 34-31 with 2:47 left in the third.
The Warriors quickly answered as Derrick Robinson made a 3-pointer and Rashard Rice scored five points. Woodlawn stretched the lead to 44-33 late in the quarter.
Hereford scored the first seven points of the fourth quarter as Woodlawn spread the court and tried to run down the clock. Ben Bittner's two free throws sliced the lead to 44-40 with 3:49 left, but the Warriors then scored 13 of the game's final 17 points. Woodlawn made nine of 10 free-throw attempts in the fourth quarter.