Cumberland, MD - The Howard Community College men's basketball team finished the Personal Best Classic against Hosts Allegany College, and ultimately fell 82-76, splitting 1-1 on the weekend.
An evenly matched contest during the opening minutes of the first half, but the Trojans found themselves on a 7-0 scoring run and took a 37-33 lead over the Dragons with 18 seconds left to play. A steal by
Emanuel Henriques (Baltimore, MD/Benjamin Franklin) made way for a second chance point off the glass for the Dragons to shrink the deficit to 35-37. With ten seconds left to play in the first, a final play for the Trojans adds two to the scoreboard leading to a 39-35 deficit going into halftime.
The Dragons looking to shrink the lead after the half, create a 7-0 scoring run to regain a 49-42 lead over the Trojans. But a determined Allegany, regains control and constructs a scoring run of their own to take back the lead 52-50. A few more tied scores during this back and forth contest, but Allegany continued to put pressure on the Howard defense with a number of back-to-back buckets. The Dragons were unable to separate and take back the lead by the end of the game, before falling 82-76 to the Trojans.
Henriques led the Dragons off the bench with 20 points, 3 rebounds, and 5 steals, followed by
Shane Taylor (Ellicott City, MD/Centennial) who added 15 points and 2 rebounds. Three more Dragons in double figures with
Ryan Conway (Towson, MD/Dulaney) scoring 13 points and 6 rebounds,
Andrew Mills (Owings Mills, MD/New Town) finished with 12 points and 7 rebounds, and
O'Meech Wilson (Glen Burnie, MD/North County) with 11 points and 6 rebounds. Lastly,
Jaden Johnson (Upper Marlboro, MD/Dr. Henry A. Wise) tacked on two points and
John Thomas (Baltimore, MD/Patterson) added one point for the Dragons.
Following the Personal Best Classic, the Dragons will travel to Catonsville, MD to take on the Richard Bland Statesmen on Friday, November 17 at 5 p.m. at CCBC Catonsville. Howard is 1-1 all-time against the Statesmen after a win in Columbia, MD in 2022.
