Great Mills extends win streak to 10, dominating Huntingtown

Huntingtown, MD – The Great Mills boys basketball team extended their 9-game winning streak, defeating the Huntingtown Hurricanes 60-45. The Hornets have only dropped one game in conference, sitting them at the top as the season approaches its last month of regular season play.

“I’m just happy to get a win here because it’s not easy,” stated Great Mills Head Coach Jeff Burrell after the game. “That could have gone either way early on, the guys stayed focused. I was proud of our defense and in the third quarter I was proud of both defense and offense.”

The contest’s final score is not indicative of how the first half played out. Huntingtown came out strong, taking the lead early until Terrell Kent (Sr.) hit two three-pointers, keeping the game close. “Terrell stepped up today,” said his teammate Max Brooks (Jr.) who lead the team across the board, recording 17 points, 18 rebounds, and five blocks. “It was a statement game. We came out and buckled down on defense and got a good offense running.”

Only down nine at the end of the half, Huntingtown was still in the game but turnovers and the return of some of Great Mills starters who sat out the first half snuffed out any chance of a Hurricane upset. “We haven’t lost many games at home,” stated Huntingtown Head Coach Tobias Jenifer. “Great Mills plays extremely hard; my hat is off to Coach Peewee [Burrell] and his team. They play with more heart than a lot of teams.”

Great Mills scored 26-points in the third period, holding a 21-point lead going into the fourth—a total that any team would have difficulty overcoming. “A couple of guys weren’t able to start today but they got a chance to start in the third quarter and they all played well together. We have some tough opponents coming up and if we win out, we’re in good shape,” said Burrell. Brooks feels confident going into the end of the season, “Our shooters are shooting, our bigs are cleaning up everything, getting triple-doubles. Everything’s winning right now.” As the interview was ending, Kent proclaimed that the Hornets were “going to be SMAC [Southern Maryland Athletic Conference] champs!”

Great Mills currently sits atop of the conference at (9-1) in conference and (12-3) overall.

The Hurricanes had difficulties scoring, with no player reaching double digits. The team struggled in just about every facet in the second half, but coach Jenifer saw “some promise” out of bench players who got into the game. He stated that his team needs to “get back to the basics” and play better defense. “We have a long way to go and have a big game on Friday against Calvert.” The Hurricanes lost to the Cavs by a single point just a month ago. A Calvert win would likely give them the county championship, whereas a win by Huntingtown will likely result in a tie between the two schools.