BEL AIR, Md. - The Harford men's basketball team picked the perfect night to earn its first conference victory of the season, and they did so in exciting fashion. On APGFCU Arena Dedication Night, in front of the largest crowd to ever see a Harford basketball game, the Fighting Owls used an 11-0 second half spurt to claim their first lead and never look back in a 64-57 win over CCBC Essex on Tuesday night.

The Fighting Owls came out ice cold, shooting 8-for-37 (21.6 percent) from the floor and trailing by as many as 13 on two different occasions in the first half. But after halftime, Harford turned up the intensity and forced 19 second-half turnovers to turn a seven-point intermission deficit into a seven-point MD JUCO win.

Four different players scored in the pivotal 11-0 run, spearheaded by Jeff Joynes' old-fashioned three-point play. Colby Giacubeno connected on a fast-break layup to tie the score at 36-36, and a pair of freebies from Carlos Brown gave Harford their first lead of the night at the 15:23 mark in the second stanza.

Moments later, an Essex four-point play gave the visitors their final lead of the night, because Harford then continued its hot stretch, scoring the next eight points and putting the game away. In that spurt, again, four different players scored, including a powerful slam from Brown and a triple from Joynes. The Fighting Owls led 46-40 and the crowd of 621 was in a frenzy. Harford led by as many as 10 as the clock ticked closer to victory, securing its first MD JUCO win in the new arena.

Giacubeno led the Fighting Owls with 14 points, while Brown scored 12 of his 13 markers after the intermission. Malachi Seney added a dozen and Joynes recorded a double-double with 11 points and 10 rebounds. The Fighting Owls received some help off the bench with George Cooke and Roger Schuman's three blocks each and Dimitrious Jelen-Joy's eight points.

Harford travels to Montgomery on Saturday for its final contest before a finals break. The men's game tips at 7:30 p.m.