Men's Box Score
BEL AIR, Md.—Both the Harford men's and women's basketball teams were eliminated from the MDJUCO Tournament on Tuesday evening as they fell in their respective opening round games. The No. 6 Fighting Owl (15-8) men gave up 15 straight points over the last 4:45 as they fell to visiting No. 11 CCBC-Essex at the Susquehanna Center, while the No. 12 Fighting Owl (6-17) women were downed, 85-55, by host No. 5 Anne Arundel.
Sophomore John Schwarz (Perry Hall, Md./Perry Hall/Mount St. Mary's) led Harford in his final game at the Susquehanna Center by tallying a double-double of 25 points and 11 rebounds, while fellow sophomore Jamar Cooper (Petersburg, Va./Petersburg) was one assist shy of a double-double with 11 points and nine assists. Julius Fambro led the Knights (14-11) with a double-double of 25 points and 11 boards, while Kurtis Levere posted a double-double on 11 steals and 10 points.
Harford controlled the game from the start, building as much as a 16-point lead, 41-25, with 6:31 remaining in the first half, but Essex would end the period on a 15-4 run to take just a five-point, 45-40, deficit into the second period.
The Knights took their first lead, 52-50, at the 16:20 mark and would see their advantage climb to five points, 62-57, before Harford battled back with seven straight points to make it a two-point margin, 64-62, in the Owls' favor.
After some back and forth, the game remained a one-possession contest, 73-71 with 5:55 left, but three straight Harford buckets put the Owls up by nine, 80-71 with 4:45 left to play.
Harford's nine-point advantage disappeared quickly as the host Owls failed to score for the remainder of the game, while the Knights added 15 straight points on the way to the 86-80 upset win.
On the women's side, sophomore Kiara Reeves (Aberdeen, Md./C. Milton Wright) led the way in her final game as an Owl with 20 points and eight rebounds, including shooting 7-for-10 from the field in the first half. Freshman Tiffany Smith (Abingdon, Md./John Carroll) added another 17 points and seven boards, while Jaclyn Nucci led the Pioneers (13-9) on the way to the 85-55 rout.
The Fighting Owl men return to action next weekend when they travel to Hagerstown for the NJCAA Division-II Region XX Tournament, while the Fighting Owl women have wrapped up the 2009-10 season with a 6-17 record, just one win shy of their 7-17 record from 2008-09.
The No. 11 CCBC-Essex men will advance to the MDJUCO quarterfinal against No. 3 Hagerstown on Friday at Prince George's, while the No. 5 Anne Arundel women will take on No. 4 Garrett in their quarterfinal game on Thursday at Prince George's.
