Region XX Division-II Bracket
Box Score
HAGERSTOWN, Md.—Sophomore Troy Burgan (Akron, Ohio/North) was nearly perfect from the floor as he shot 9-for-11 and finished with 24 points to lead the No. 4 Harford men's basketball team to a 99-82 NJCAA Region XX quarterfinal over No. 5 CCBC-Essex on Friday at Hagerstown Community College.
In the third meeting of the season, the Fighting Owls (16-8) easily handled the Knights (14-13) to advance to the Region XX semifinals. The two matchups earlier in the season, on Dec. 8 and Feb. 16, saw the home team blow a 16-point lead as Harford earned a 103-88 decision on the road in December and Essex most recently scored 15 unanswered points to win the Feb. 16 game, 86-80.
Nothing remotely close to a comeback transpired on Friday afternoon as Harford led from the first to the final buzzer. The Knights were competitive in the first half, tying the game on five different occasions and taking a 48-43 deficit into the halftime break.
Harford's lead quickly disintegrated as Essex pulled to within one, 49-48, just over two minutes into the period, but two Owl buckets would bring the lead back to six, 56-50.
The teams would trade baskets, with neither sustaining a substantial scoring run, for most the second half, until Harford broke into double-digits, for just the second time the entire game, with an 11-point, 85-74 advantage with under four minutes remaining. Clutch free-throw shooting down the stretch would cement the Harford win on the way to the 99-82 victory.
Burgan led the way with 24 points, while sophomore Jamar Cooper (Petersburg, Va./Petersburg) added 22, shooting 9-for-11 from the stripe. Brandon Riley also had 22, on the Essex side, along with 10 rebounds, while Julius Fambro added 11 points and nine rebounds and Richard Mason contributed 14 points.
The Fighting Owls return to action on Saturday at 3:00 p.m. when they face No. 1 Cecil in the Region XX semifinal with the winner advancing to the championship game on Sunday at 1:00 p.m.
