CAMBRIA COUNTY, PA – The Penn Highlands Blackbears gave the Dragons a second half scare, but ultimately the Howard CC road warriors were able to prevail with an 83-72 win. The victory improves the Dragons to 18-5 on the season and move back to first place in the Region 20 standings at 6-1.
 
Penn Highlands started out with an early scoring burst, but the Dragons were unstoppable early on as they led 28-15 midway through the first half. The Blackbears were able to chip away at the Howard lead, but the Dragons still took a comfortable 39-30 lead at halftime.
 
The early parts of the second half were a different story as Penn Highlands came out firing, even taking a 46-44 lead midway through. The two teams exchanged leads for a few minutes until a scoring outburst from John Thomas (Baltimore, MD/Patterson) propelled the Dragons back into a lead that they would not relinquish again over the final eight minutes of the game.
 
Thomas scored 21 points in a breakout game for him, most of which came in the second half. Shane Taylor (Ellicott City, MD/Centennial) also scored 21 points along with 8 rebounds, 5 steals, and 3 assists in a strong game for the sophomore guard. Jalen Bowie (Frederick, MD/Frederick) scored 10 points while Emanuel Henriques (Baltimore, MD/Benjamin Franklin) added 9. Andrew Mills (Owings Mills, MD/New Town) came off the bench to add 8 points as did Christian Dean (Elkridge, MD/Long Reach) with 6 to his name,
 
The Dragons will next go up against their neighborly rivals at Montgomery College on Friday, February 2 at 7:30 PM. The Raptors are currently 8-12 on the season and sit in 6^th place in Region 20 with a 3-3 record in regional play. The two teams are 6-6 against each other over the last decade, with winning streaks defining the series as Montgomery won five straight from 2015-19 until Howard answered back with four in a row. The Raptors broke that streak in the Region 20 tournament semifinals in a stunning 69-61 upset over the Dragons in 2023.