Bel Air, Md. – The Fighting Owls tipped off the conference portion of their schedule with a major win, defeating the Prince George's Owls 94-81 on Tuesday.
Trailing PG 16-8 seven minutes into the opening half, Harford head coach
Mike Smelkinson turned to his bench for scoring, calling on the likes of
Jaedon Willis and
Devin Smith to get the Fighting Owls back into the game. The two Harford guards did not disappoint, combining for 24 points in the final 13 minutes to give the Fighting Owls a 42-32 heading into the half.
The second half saw redshirt-freshman
Kenneth Sumpter join in on the action alongside Willis and Smith, as the trio of Harford newcomers slammed the other Owls for 36 points on 13-of-16 shooting from the floor. PG would cut the gap to six early in the second, but the Fighting Owls answered by outscoring them 29-15 over the next eight minutes to put themselves comfortably ahead.
Harford suffered a late scare in the second half as PG pushed their deficit back into the teens and forced a timeout from the Fighting Owls' bench. The men in blue turned things around out of the break however, sinking their final six free throws while adding two more points from the field to secure the win.
Game Notes
- Jaedon Willis was deadly from everywhere on the floor Tuesday night. The freshman guard finished 8-of-12 from the field, 5-of-7 from beyond the arc and 8-of-8 from the free throw line.
- Devin Smith was also extremely efficient, finishing with 23 points on 8-of-13 shooting.
- Harford excelled from the charity strike, shooting 25-of-30 as a team (83.3%). The other Owls made just 61.5% of their free throws.
- Kevin Perry led all Harford players with nine rebounds, while Khalil Williams-Diggins topped the Fighting Owls in assists with six.
- Both teams collected 38 rebounds.
Up Next
Harford travels to Harcum for a neutral floor meeting with #5 Eastern Florida State (Nov. 15) and Richard Bland (Nov. 16). Both games are scheduled for 5 p.m. starts.
