Dundalk, MD – The Howard Dragons suffered their first regional loss of the season in a tough game against the CCBC Dundalk Lions by the score of 70-66. The Dragons fall to 13-5 on the year and 5-1 in the region as they fall to third place in the region.
Dundalk jumped out to an 8-0 lead early in the game before
Andrew Mills (Owings Mills, MD/New Town) broke the streak with a put back layup three minutes into the game. The Dragons continued to struggle shooting in the first half as they fell behind 19-5 before a
Jaden Johnson (Upper Marlboro, MD/Dr. Henry A. Wise) layup broke another long drought for Howard. The Dragons were able to find their defensive footing, holding the Lions to just six points over the final 10 minutes of the first half to trail by only 29-23 at halftime.
The start of the second half was equally as ineffective for the Dragons as Dundalk extended their lead to 17.
Emanuel Henriques (Baltimore, MD/Benjamin Franklin) was able to fight his way into the paint for a hoop and harm three point play followed by a
John Thomas (Baltimore, MD/Patterson) three pointer to put a huge dent in the Dundalk lead. Down by 14 with 11 minutes left, Mills and Enriques continued to work the inside of the Dundalk defense as they went on a 7-0 run. The Dragons kept fighting back as they continued to get defensive stops and frequent trips to the free throw line. Down by 9 with less than a minute remaining,
Ryan Conway (Towson, MD/Dulaney) was able to get the old fashioned three point play followed by the Howard full court press forcing another turnover to get Enriques on the line for two more free throws. After a
Shane Taylor (Ellicott City, MD/Centennial) steal, Mills was able to spin move into the paint and lay it up to put Howard within two for the first time all game. Dundalk missed the first free throw on a one and one, but the Dragons were unable to secure the rebound to give the Lions another chance at the free throw line. This time the Lions were able to convert both free throws to secure the victory for Dundalk.
Mills led the way for Howard with 17 points while Enriques scored 15 points off the bench. Taylor and Conway added 7 each with
O'Meech Wilson (Glen Burnie, MD/North County) scoring 6 points with 7 rebounds. The Dragons will continue to fight through their road warrior season as they next travel to Harford on Saturday, January 13 at 2 PM. This will be the fourth meeting between Dragon head coach
Mike Smelkinson and his former assistant, now head coach Dimitrios Jelen-Joy of Harford. Howard won the first three games with the Fighting Owls ending that streak with an 80-79 overtime victory in February 2023.
