Columbia, MD - Behind excellent games from freshman Juan Bell (Silver Spring, MD/James Hubert Blake) and Matt Dalton (Sykesville, MD/Bishop O'Connell), the Howard Community College Dragons took care of business Wednesday night in a 72-51 win over the Baltimore City Community College Panthers.

Howard's new freshman additions led the way as the Dragons out-dueled the Panthers in a back-and-forth first half, then pulled away for good in the second. Circus plays from freshman Evin Thompson (Silver Spring, MD/Sherwood) and Cedric Harville (Baltimore, MD/Ben Franklin) highlighted a breakout night for the next generation of Dragons.

The Panthers strategy against Howard was to shut down leading scorers Sincere Barfield (Philadelphia, PA/Patterson) and Myles McDuffie (Baltimore, MD/Lake Clifton). Little did they realize that Howard's excellent recruiting class was ready to step up if their sophomore teammates ran into trouble. Bell opened the scoring with a deep three, and Dalton's pressure in the paint opened up the lanes for other Dragons to score. After trailing early, the Dragons tied the game on a layup from Harville, then pulled ahead as McDuffie got aggressive in the paint.

Leading 32-24, the Dragons began to pull away in the second half. BCCC shifted focus to the Dragons newcomers, opening up McDuffie and Barfield at last. McDuffie scored six points in the first five minutes of the half, and Barfield sank a deep three to give Howard a 20-point lead. Two major circus plays dominated the next stretch of the half. Evin Thompson (Silver Spring, MD/Sherwood) came off the bench to hit a big three, then weaved through traffic to score a tough and-one. Cedric Harville (Baltimore, MD/Ben Franklin) brought the crowd to its feet with a massive alley-oop from Jake Tillman (Atlanta, GA/Lakeside) to wrap up the night for the Dragons.

McDuffie led the Dragons with 13 points, three rebounds, and four steals despite spending most of the evening double-teamed. Bell scored a career-high nine points with six assists and two steals, while Harville added eight points and four rebounds. Thompson added eight points, while Dalton had his best game of the season with seven points and six rebounds. Barfield ran into foul trouble, but still added seven points, two rebounds, two assists, and two steals. Lorcan Hyndman (Sydney, Australia/Bishop O'Connell) had six rebounds and two steals, while TaJir Webster (Waldorf, MD/St. Charles) was a menace on defense with nine rebounds and four blocks. Zion Dixon's (District Heights, MD/Largo) first start with the Dragons saw him add four rebounds and a steal.

The Dragons have a tough road trip ahead of them as they head to Rochester, New York for the Murph Shapiro Classic. Howard will do battle with Jamestown Community College on Saturday, November 8 at 4:00 PM, then will take on the nationally ranked Monroe Community College Tribunes on Sunday, November 9 at 4:00 PM.