Amid Rough Play, Senior Scores 24; Blake Girls Top Quince Orchard
By Alan Goldenbach
Washington Post Staff Writer
Sunday, March 9, 2008
Even with two players ejected, hard fouls aplenty, and tension on every second-half possession that the game could spiral out of control, C.J. Garner stayed focused.
The Springbrook senior guard scored a game-high 24 points and made several smart feeds into the low post on dribble penetration to lead the seventh-ranked Blue Devils to a 64-52 victory over Magruder in the Maryland 4A West final before a standing-room-only gym at Blair.
With Springbrook leading throughout, Magruder scored the first five points of the second half to cut the margin in half. Then, after a Magruder miss, Springbrook's Jamal Olasewere was called for a technical foul when he swung his elbow in the face of Magruder's Alex Lee, knocking him to the floor.
Both teams got a little testy as Lee stayed down for about 20 seconds. After referees seemed to calm things down, Lee walked toward Olasewere, who slapped him in the face. Olasewere was assessed another technical, which earned him an ejection and an automatic suspension from Springbrook's next game -- the 4A semifinals.
Lee also drew a technical foul on the play. Magruder committed a turnover on its next possession, then Lee was called for a blocking foul, and threw his arms up in protest. He was given a second technical foul, ending his night as well.
Lee, an All-Met soccer player, has earned a reputation the past three seasons as an agitator who often gets under the skin of opponents and throws them off their games. Springbrook Coach Tom Crowell thought Lee's tactics went too far yesterday.
"That's not what the Magruder program is about," Crowell said. "They're a great program; they don't have to do that kind of stuff."
After Lee's ejection, Springbrook took control, scoring eight straight points and 11 of 13 to take a 41-27 lead. Magruder never got closer than 10.
Crowell "told us we had to stay poised," said Garner, who was held to 15.8 points the past four times he faced Magruder, well below his 21.1 season average. "I was a little bit concerned, but my teammates were finding me on the break and getting me the ball."
Magruder Coach Dan Harwood said: "Garner was probably the difference. He's never had a game like that against us."
In the preceding 4A West girls' final, Blake, a year removed from its winningest season and first region title, bettered that mark, and earned another trip to the Maryland 4A semifinals with a 65-52 victory over Quince Orchard, thanks to a great spurt by senior guard Danielle Luckett.
Quince Orchard (19-6), which entered the game having won 10 straight, was able to keep pace with Blake (22-3) and withstood the Bengals' pressure and tendency to speed the tempo.
But after Mary O'Brien's layup cut the Blake lead to 21-20 just over three minutes before halftime, Luckett took over. She scored eight points during an 11-3 run to end the half with Blake ahead 32-23. Quince Orchard never got closer in the second half.
"That game being that close was unacceptable for [Gilmore] and unacceptable for us," Luckett said. "We needed to get ahead before halftime."
Up Next Boys: Springbrook will play Laurel in the Maryland 4A boys' semifinals Thursday at 9 p.m. at Comcast Center. Girls: Blake will play Eleanor Roosevelt in the Maryland 4A girls' semifinals Thursday at 5 p.m. at UMBC's RAC Arena Up Next Boys: Springbrook will play Laurel in the Maryland 4A boys' semifinals Thursday at 9 p.m. at Comcast Center. Girls: Blake will play Eleanor Roosevelt in the Maryland 4A girls' semifinals Thursday at 5 p.m. at UMBC's RAC Arena
View all comments that have been posted about this article.