No. 12 River Hill (1-1) at No. 9 Oakland Mills (1-0)
When: Wednesday, 5:30 p.m.
KEY PLAYERS: River Hill: Charlie Thomas, Sr., F; Oakland Mills – Will Robinson, Sr., G-F; Daniel Kiely, Jr., PG.
KEYS TO VICTORY
Two of the top teams in Howard County square off in a key early-season game that will likely play big in determining the league champion. The matchup is all about tempo. The visiting Hawks need to slow the pace and execute their halfcourt offense, led by dominant forward Charlie Thomas. The Scorpions, who will be without injured forward Mamadou Ndiaye, like to play fast. St. Frances transfer Will Robinson brings versatile skills on offense while Kiely makes good decisions at the point for the home team. Last season, Oakland Mills claimed a 61-59 overtime win over River Hill on Jan. 8. With Thomas in early foul trouble, the Hawks were still able to take a 16-15 halftime lead and then went up by 8 in the third quarter before the Scorpions rallied. Ndiaye scored 13 in that game, but other big contributors have graduated. Thomas finished with 24 points for the Hawks, who will be without injured guard Mike Heitzmann.