In their previous 18 regular-season and tournament games, the Bel Air Bobcats had not earned a single victory, but they picked a good time to emerge from the marathon losing streak, beating Elkton, 49-43, on Saturday in the opening round of the MPSSAA 2A East regional boys basketball tournament.
Playing as the visiting team, the sixth-seeded Bobcats were led by Cavin Murray, who notched 15 points and eight rebounds. Dezmond Hall helped the winning cause with 12 points and two steals, while Zach Nadolny had seven points and a team-high nine rebounds in the victory. Bel Air’s Matt Adams had seven points and two steals.
With the victory, Bel Air will move on to the second round of their tournament, where they will play second-seeded Edgewood going away on Tuesday night in the 2A East District VII sectional semifinal.
Huskies eliminate Cobras
The Patterson Mill boys got past the first round of MPSSAA playoffs, but they didn’t have an easy time doing so, as they overcame a halftime deficit to edge the visiting Harford Tech Cobras, 59-56, on Saturday in the Class 1A North regional tournament.
Patterson Mill came into the game was their bracket’s sixth seed, while Harford Tech was the 11th seed.
At the halftime break, Harford Tech led, 30-23.
Reggie Daniels had a 16-point, 10-rebound performance to pace the Huskies in both categories, while Garrett Burkhead and Donte Johnson both netted 11 points in the victory. J.J. Butler recorded 10 points for the Huskies, and teammate Jordan Zang hit for eight points.
Kenny West led the Cobras in scoring with 15 points, and also dished out five assists. Telvone Lambert had 14 points in the loss, while teammate Isaiah Gills scored 12 points. Devonte Bundley had nine points and 10 rebounds for the Cobras, while Andy Poulton had eight points and seven rebounds.
The victory earned Patterson Mill a Tuesday-night road game with the third-seeded Owings Mills squad.
Mustangs advance
The 11th-seeded C. Milton Wright Mustangs advanced into the second round of the Class 3A North regional tournament on Saturday with a 79-71 victory over the host-team Catonsville squad.
CMW held their hosts to 16 first-half points, while scoring 33 through the first two frames.
Josh Keys scored 29 points to lead the Mustang offense, while Derrick Vogel posted 13 points. Matt McNeely dropped 13 points for CMW, and teammate Jake Lind had eight points. Tim Milich scored seven in the victory, and Bryce Monroe netted five points.
For their second-round contest, the Mustangs have to play a road game with the third-seeded Hereford Bulls on Tuesday night.
Eagles move on
In the Class 3A North region’s opening round, Aberdeen came out with a narrow, 49-47 victory over ninth-seeded Patapsco to extend its season by at least one game.
On Tuesday night, eighth-seeded Aberdeen will travel to play the 3A North’s top-seeded Milford Mill Academy in the tournament’s second round.