As they have been most of the season, Bruce Spruell and Tristan Easton were Meade's leading scorers Friday night against Old Mill.
It was the play of Keith Duffin in the second quarter, though, that took the all the suspense out of what was billed as a showdown between two of the top teams in the county.
Spruell finished with 20 points and Easton followed with 15, while Duffin scored nine of his 10 points during a decisive second-quarter run in the No. 12 Mustangs' 73-56 victory over the Patriots.
Meade (11-1) won its 10th straight game and remains the only team undefeated in county play (7-0).
"It's a rivalry game, so when you have rivals the guys will play above their heads and some will play with more energy than others," Meade coach Pete Corriero said. "But, we can do better and I know we will. I'm happy that we won, but I'm looking at the bigger picture."
With the Mustangs leading, 19-18, three minutes into the second quarter, they outscored the Patriots, 23-3, over the final five minutes of the half to build a commanding 21-point halftime lead. Duffin sat out the first half of the second, then returned and sparked the Mustangs with a pair of 3-pointers, an easy basket down low and a free throw to help blow the game open.
He also assisted on Jamuari Goldwire's layup to help get the run started, then later in the half kept a loose ball alive that led to a basket by Spruell during a 12-0 run over the final two minutes.
"When all the attention gets put on Bruce and Tristan, it allows me to score and contribute," said Duffin, who added five rebounds, three steals and two assists. "This win means a lot to us as a team and as a family. We just need to take it one game at a time, and Coach does a great job at keeping us humble."
Meade scored the first six points of the game and never trailed. Old Mill had a 5-0 run early in the second and appeared as though it was going to be able to hang with the Mustangs, but Meade responded with the game-changing run to take control. The Patriots pulled within 12 points late in the third quarter, but got no closer.
"Basketball is a game of spurts. They had that one in the second, then another one in the fourth quarter after we had cut the lead down," Old Mill coach Mike Francis said. "We got within 11 or 12, but then they shot it right back up."
Spruell scored seven of his points in the second quarter and added another six in the fourth to help the Mustangs re-assume control after the Patriots pulled to within 12. Meade used three steals that led to six quick points to build the lead back to 18.
"This was a good win. It was a rivalry game and we really wanted it," said Spruell, who added five steals and three assists. "It was nice to put the game away because we were able to relax at the end and we didn't have any pressure on us."
Camari Wilkerson scored 17 points, Clifton Eubanks had 10 and Brian Denton made three 3-pointers and scored nine points for Old Mill, which was playing its first game following the death of Francis' father on Wednesday.
"It was tough, but my dad wouldn't want it any other way, though," Francis said. "I didn't want it to be a distraction, but I don't think I was prepared."
Old Mill (8-4)1382114-56
Meade (11-1)17251417-73
Old Mill (PTS)
Wilkerson 6(3) 2-4 17; Hicks 2(1) 0-2 5; Denton 3(3) 0-0 9; Eubanks 5 0-2 10; Hagan 2 2-3 6; Tyson 3 0-0 6; Radford 0 0-0 ; Kaskins 1(1) 0-0 3; Johnson 0 0-0 0. TOTALS: 22(8) 4-11 56.
Meade (PTS)
Easton 6 3-5 15; Qualls 2 0-0 4; Spruell 9(1) 1-3 20; Goldwire 2 1-2 5; Duffin 3(2) 2-4 10; Washington 0 4-4 4; Burns 2 0-0 4; Goings 4 0-0 8; Jackson 1(1) 0-0 3; Huff 0 0-0 0; White 0 0-0 0; Black 0 0-0 0. TOTALS: 29(4) 11-18 73.