McHenry, MD – The Seahawks may not have played like a nationally ranked team for most of Wednesday's game, but they put together a 10-minute stretch befitting an NJCAA power. That was enough to propel 18th-ranked Cecil College to a 114-100 men's basketball victory over host Garrett College.
Cecil, trailing 54-50 early in the second half, went on an impressive 39-17 run to take control of the game. While that surge gave the Seahawks the win, Garrett College's effort earned the Lakers accolades from Cecil head coach Ed Durham.
"He's doing a nice job and he's got a very nice team," said Durham of first-year Lakers head coach Matt McCullough.
Durham said the Garrett contest worried him, with his Seahawks coming off a 79-70 victory over then-9th-ranked Niagara County Community College.
"I'm not pleased at all with our effort," said Durham. "Coming off beating Niagara, we knew this could be a 'trap' game for us. Their [Garrett's] effort was good. Ours was lacking."
McCullough agreed with Durham's assessment of the Lakers' effort.
"We played really hard," said McCullough. "They were a lot bigger, a lot stronger and a lot more physical than we are, so we had to play with speed. We knew we had to maximize the number of possessions."
In the end, the Lakers simply couldn't counter Cecil's physical style of play. Khalid Gates had a monster game for the Seahawks with 22 points and a game-high 19 rebounds as Cecil finished with a 61-33 rebounding advantage.
"Cecil is very physical – they really go to the offensive glass," observed McCullough. "Their personnel suits that bruising, physical style of play."
Trailing 54-50, Cecil ran off 9 straight points to take the lead for good. Darell Johnson (11 points) had a pair of baskets during the run, which Markee Johnson (10 points) capped by turning a loose ball into a 3-point play.
The Lakers were still within 7 points after Jhaiden Wilson (game-high 28 points)knocked down a 3-pointer to make it 67-60. Cecil responded with a 9-2 scoring spree, which Marlon Lewis finished off with a 3-pointer, as the Seahawks stretched their advantage to 76-62.
GC, which twice trailed by 19 points, never did give up. Trailing 107-92 with less than 2 minutes remaining, Lamont Powell (17 points) and Wilson drained consecutive 3-points to get the Lakers within 9 points, but they could get no closer.
The Lakers couldn't have asked for a better start, racing to 10-0 and 14-4 leads as Powell and Tyler Rodeheaver (9 points) split GC's first 14 points.
"We came out shooting it well," said McCullough. "I have to give our guys a lot of credit."
Cecil recovered from that rough start, using a 9-2 scoring spree to take a 33-28 lead, but Garrett answered with a 12-2 run that included points form 4 different Lakers. Ezekiel Edwards (10 points) capped the run with a tip-in that gave Garrett a 40-35 lead.
The Lakers, who had a 46-45 halftime advantage, used 3-pointers from Darius Jones (10 points) and Mekhi Price (11 points, 4 assists, team-high 3 steals), and a foul-line jumper by AJ Crosby (team-high 11 rebounds, 4 assists) to stretch the lead to 54-50. That's when Cecil went on its impressive run.
Notes: Seahawk reserve Marlon Lewis scored 17 points and Hassan Corbin added 10, giving Cecil 5 scorers in double figures.
The Cecil contest was GC's second straight against a nationally ranked team. Chesapeake College – which held off the Lakers, 82-77, in their previous contest – is ranked 13th nationally.
The Lakers are back in action on Wednesday, January 5th when they host Salem University's junior varsity at 7 p.m.
If you would like more information on this topic or Garrett College, please contact
Stacy Holler at 301-387-3045 or stacy.holler@garrettcollege.edu.
