Hagerstown, Md. – The No. 3 Harford men's basketball team navigated past a tricky opening round Maryland Junior College Conference Tournament matchup, defeating the No. 6 Garrett Lakers 65-59, Friday afternoon at Hagerstown Community College.

Not much separated the Fighting Owls and Lakers in the opening 20 minutes. Harford took a 32-27 lead into the half but left five points on the table due to a 1-for-6 showing from the free throw line.
 
The second half proved to be even closer than the first, but Harford knocked down all 12 of their attempts from the charity stripe while keeping pace with Garrett's offense to come away with the win.
 
Harford move to 16-10 on the year with the win, while Garrett falls to 16-9.

How It Happened
The Fighting Owls defense held the Lakers to a season low 59 points, forced 20 Garrett turnovers and record 10 steals. 23 of Harford's points came off Garrett turnovers.
 
In addition, Garrett's leading scorer Zakeem Davis was limited to 14 points, his second lowest amount of the year. Davis tallied a season high 33 points when the two teams met back on Nov. 20.

Game Notes

• Harford guard Kenny Sumpter led the team with 12 points, while Khalil Williams-Diggins and Kevin Perry trailed slightly behind with 10 each.
• Trevon Morgan topped all Fighting Owls with seven rebounds in just 14 minutes.
• Nine Fighting Owls played at least 10 minutes, with five playing over 20.
• Williams-Diggins and Devin Smith led the team with three assists each. Williams-Diggins also record a game high four steals.

Up Next
Harford moves on to the semifinals and will play the winner of No. 2 Allegany vs. No. 7 Frederick on Saturday, February 16 at 5 p.m.

The Trojans and Cougars are scheduled to play today at 2 p.m.