BEL AIR, MD - The Harford Fighting Owls men's and women's basketball teams hosted the annual Holiday Hoops Classic over the weekend, featuring six games over two days. The women faced CCBC Essex and Sullivan County, while the men faced Beaver County and Delaware Tech. Howard men's basketball also participated in two contests against the same opponents. The women would go 0-2 on the weekend with challenging match ups and fall to 3-9 on the season, while the men would go 2-0 and improve to 9-5 overall.

December 15
Harford Women vs CCBC Essex Women
Three players stood out on the stats sheet for the Fighting Owls in their loss to the Division II #4 Essex Knights. Miranda Turner lead the scoring with 13 points shooting 5-10 from the floor and 3-6 from three-point range. Molly Mullaney contributed 11 points and 3 rebounds to the team effort, while Marie Bangoura contributed 10 points and 2 rebounds. Saylor Bare lead the team in rebounds with 5, and collected one steal. As a team, Harford would outshoot the Knights from three-point range going 34.8%, but ultimately the offensive production could not match the tempo and efficiency that would solidify the win for Essex.

Harford Men vs Beaver County Men
The first contest of the weekend for the men was a rematch from the season opener where the Fighting Owls beat the Titans 71-45 on the road. Harford would get out to a strong start in the first half shooting 42% from the floor and executing a perfect performance from the free throw line, going 13-13. Donovan Miller would come away from the game with 18 points and 3 rebounds, while Jadyn Williams would tack on 12 points of his own and 7 rebounds. Terry Long and Ty Williams would contribute 9 rebounds each, helping Harford to 22 second-chance points throughout the game. The bench would contribute 40 points to the win, sealing off a great team performance to open the tournament.

December 16
Harford Men vs Delaware Tech
The Fighting Owls returned to action on Saturday to face the Delaware Tech Athletics in their final contest of the Holiday Hoops Classic. Turnovers and fast break points would be the biggest differences in output between the teams, as Harford capitalized on 23 Del Tech turnovers, while committing just 10. Terry Long and Jadyn Williams would contribute 3 steals each to the defensive effort, and help the team towards 23 points off turnovers. Paul Mason would lead the way offensively with 29 points, his second breakout performance of the week after scoring 23 against Baltimore City. Mason would also log 5 blocks in the contest and 7 rebounds. Kevin Sanon would record his first double-double of the year with 10 points and 10 rebounds, while also earning 5 blocks on the night. Chandler Johnson would contribute 15 points of his own, shooting 3-6 from three-point range.

Harford Women vs SUNY Sullivan Women
In the final game of the weekend, the Fighting Owls would look to avenge themselves from a staggering loss to Sullivan the weekend before on the road. Overall Harford would improve their defensive performance, limiting the General's scoring to 26 fewer points than the previous match up. However, the offensive output would not be enough to give the Fighting Owls a chance at redemption. Molly Mullaney would have the best overall performance for Harford with 8 points, 4 steals, and 5 rebounds. Marie Bangoura and Skye Best would also contribute 8 points each, with 4 and 3 rebounds respectively. 


Next up, Harford returns to action after the holiday break as they host Penn State York in a doubleheader on January 5th.