CUMBERLAND — In what could be a preview of an East District tournament game in a few weeks, Harcum held off a late rally to defeat Allegany College 104-98 on Saturday at Bob Kirk Arena.
“I thought we played extremely hard against a very good basketball team,” ACM head coach Tommie Reams said. “Coach (John) Ball had those kids ready. They run a good system, they have a great deal of size and speed. I thought we played hard, just too many mental errors in a game of that magnitude against a team that good cost us down the stretch,”
The Trojans (20-5) fell behind 11-2 early as the Bears (20-4) opened the game 3 of 4 from 3-point range.
Allegany kept the margin around 10 to 12 points for most of the first half, but the defense was unable to get consistent stops.
The Trojans seemed to settle for the first shot available, especially from deep.
Allegany went 1 of 10 from 3-point range in the first half.
“We’re trying to feel the game out, pressing a little bit,” Reams said. “You want to come out and start hot. I think guys fired a couple misfires, shots we can get anytime.”
Down 32-20 with 7:34 left in the half, the Trojans went on a 13-6 run to cut the deficit to 38-33 with 3:54 remaining.
With a minute left, Allegany committed a turnover on a swing pass.
Seconds later, Tyson Oghene recorded a steal and set up Jeremiah Mobley for a layup to make it a five-point game.
Nick Jones responded with a 3-pointer for the Bears.
Jones led Harcum with 20 points, eight rebounds, four assists and a steal.
On the other end, Mobley set up Cam Brown for a layup with eight seconds left to cut the Trojans halftime deficit to 49-43.
Arguably the biggest factor that kept Allegany in the game was their success at the free-throw line.
The Trojans shot 16 of 20 in the first half led by Oghene making all 10 of his free throws.
“You’ve got to be good at the line to win big games,” Reams said. “We had 16 of our 43 in the first half at the line. That tells us not only we were in attack mode, but we were confident enough to convert.”
Lamont Jones went 5 of 6 at the line and scored 10 points before the break. He finished with 19 points and three steals.
The second half was a similar story for Allegany. The Trojans kept it around a 10- to 12-point deficit, but were unable to go on any extended runs to cut into Harcum’s lead.
In the second half, the Bears shot 55% from the field, going 16 of 29.
“I think the big factor was our defensive integrity,” Reams said. “I thought Harcum did a great job of getting the ball to the soft spot of our defense. If we miscommunicated, Harcum attacked it.”
Several Harcum scores came on easy looks at the rim where Allegany miscommunicated on defense, leaving a wide open Bear.
“Once we cleaned that up, we were able to play some really good basketball,” Reams said. “But we have to make sure we’re talking all the time. Can’t allow the mental miscues to cost us.”
Harcum continued to maintain around a three- or four-possession lead and led by as many as 15 points when Zion Lott hit a 3-pointer with 4:08 remaining.
Lott finished with 15 points including four 3-pointers.
Trailing 92-77, the Trojans started to rally. Allegany went on a 9-2 run to once again cut the deficit to five at 94-89 with 1:09 to go.
After the Bears were called for a double dribble, Brown set up Oghene for a 3-pointer to make it a five-point game.
“Part of it was just the shear energy,” Reams said. “We picked up the energy. I thought defensively, we got better rotations. We got more aggressive on the ball.”
The Trojans added a couple scores in the final minute, but it was too little, too late to complete a comeback.
In the first half, Oghene found most of his offensive success driving to the rim. He had 14 points at halftime with 10 coming on free throws.
In the second half, he got hot from deep with three 3-pointers. He scored 19 points in the half and finished with 33 points, three rebounds, three assists and a steal.
Oghene went 14 of 14 at the free-throw line.
“In the first half, he gets downhill to the rim,” Reams said. “He gets to the foul line a lot tonight. When that catch-and-shoot three opens up, he can put up a lot of points very quickly.”
Cam Brown added 15 points and eight assists, scoring eight points in the final three minutes.
Mobley scored 10 of his 16 points in the second half and had six rebounds and a steal.
Kendall Allen finished with 19 points and seven assists for Harcum.
The Bears’ Ademar Santos scored 13 points with three rebounds while Ebenezer Ogoh added 11 points and six rebounds.
If Allegany wants to advance to the national tournament, it will likely have to beat Harcum in a few weeks.
“That team isn’t unbeatable,” Reams said. “Especially when we don’t beat ourselves. We have to make sure we have attention to detail. We have to make sure we execute the game plan every possession. It’s not about winning the game, it’s about winning every possession.”
The Trojans host Baltimore City on Wednesday at 6 p.m.