CUMBERLAND — No. 3 Fort Hill took control in the second quarter and never looked back, defeating Eastern Tech 77-55 in the Bill Bowers Christmas Classic on Wednesday.
“We weren’t our best offensively or defensively,” Fort Hill head coach Thad Burner said. “I thought Eastern Tech played really hard. We turned the ball over a little too much. Fortunately, we were able to make some outside shots. That was probably the difference.”
Trailing 11-7 in the first quarter, the Sentinels (2-1) scored six unanswered to take a 13-11 lead on a pair of free throws by Landon Sensabaugh.
Sensabaugh was key for Fort Hill in the first half. He scored 13 of his 16 points in the first half, hitting three of his four 3-pointers before halftime.
“He works really hard, Landon played hard today,” Burner said. “I thought he gave us a lot on both ends. He rebounded the ball and made some shots.”
The Sentinels got hot, scoring 11 unanswered points. Fort Hill connected on three 3-pointers in the final two minutes from three different players.
A 3-pointer by Jabril Daniels off a Deshaun Brown assist extended the Sentinel lead to 24-11 with 43 seconds left.
Daniels only scored six points, but added seven assists and five steals.
“I thought after the first two or three minutes I thought he really played well on the defensive end,” Burner said. “I thought he was active, made some shots.”
Prabhnoor Singh recorded a steal and Adrian Pefianco converted an and-one layup for the Mavericks (6-2). Pefianco completed the three point play to end the quarter down 24-14.
In the first half, Fort Hill out hustled Eastern Tech. The Sentinels won the majority of loose balls and created several steals.
Fort Hill also showed good chemistry in passing early. The Sentinels combined for 21 assists.
“We did kick the ball, assists probably were up pretty high,” Burner said.
Eastern Tech fought its way back in the second quarter, going on a 15-8 run to cut the deficit to 32-29 with 2:30 left.
Jericho Wondeye assisted Singh on an and-one layup and Singh hit the ensuing free throw.
“I think us turning the ball over,” Burner said of what got the Mavericks back into the game. “We forced some shots, we forced some passes. Turnovers are gonna lead to points.”
Eight seconds later, Fort Hill responded with an and-one layup by Gavin Carney off a Gamil Daniels assist.
Carney finished with 14 points.
The Sentinels scored the final eight points of the first half and led 40-29 at halftime.
Fort Hill continued to build its lead in the third quarter, opening on a 11-3 run.
Brown scored six points and added a steal, scoring nine points in the quarter to help the Sentinels take a 51-32 lead with five minutes left.
Brown finished with a game-high 21 points, adding five assists and two steals.
“Deshaun’s our best player,” Burner said. “We need him to be our best player offensively and defensively.”
The Mavericks cut the deficit to 13 on another and-one layup by Wandeye.
Wandeye and Matt Foley led Eastern Tech with 10 points each. Wandeye added five steals and three assists.
Jabril Daniels answered with an assist to Brown who hit another tough and-one layup to go up 58-45 with 47 seconds remaining.
Fort Hill took a 60-43 lead into the fourth quarter.
The Sentinels took its biggest lead of the game at 22 points when Liam Hamilton passed to Steven Spencer. He passed it back to Hamilton who finished a layup with 3:15 remaining.
Despite the final score, Fort Hill still has room to improve. The Sentinels committed 15 turnovers including six in the first quarter.
“Overall offensive efficiency,” Burner said of what needs to improve. “Valuing the ball, not turning it over.”
The game was part of the Bill Bowers Christmas Classic. The tournament has been a Cumberland tradition for several years with last year’s edition hosted by Allegany.
“It’s nice that we don’t have to travel,” Burner said. “I think that’s the biggest thing. I think coach (Tedd) Eirich would 100% agree on that. It’s a good thing, South (Hagerstown) used to always be involved, it’s good to see them in it. Hopefully we can keep it going.”
The Sentinels played South Hagerstown on Thursday in the finale of the Bill Bowers Classic.