Two teams aimed to stay near the top of the Baltimore County standings while playing in front of a packed gym in Essex on Friday — one looking to keep a hot streak going, the other aiming to erase a recent disappointment.
Dulaney got what it was looking for, shaking off a rough outing against Western Tech, to take down Eastern Tech, 68-48. The Lions improve to 8-2, while Eastern Tech falls to 7-4.
“It was a complete 180 from [Thursday’s loss] honestly,” Dulaney coach James Dickey said. “We played as a team; we moved as a team. We found our rhythm early. We rebounded the basketball extremely well today. It was just a great team effort today.”
Jayden Corley-Pugh led the win with 19 points, followed by Kelan Dennis with 17. Chase Huber scored 10.
Both teams came out with energy as Dulaney and Eastern traded defensive stops and baskets at a high-flying pace. Dulaney began to pull away as it played team basketball and got all five players on the court involved in the offense. The Lion also imposed their will defensively by collecting three blocks and forcing turnovers. By the end of the first quarter, the Lions held a 19-10 lead.
Dulaney continued its first quarter run by extending the lead to 28-12 in the second quarter, but Eastern would answer back. An acrobatic layup by guard Adrian Pefianco and two free throws from Pefianco gave Eastern life as the Mavericks went on a 6-0 run to cut the lead to 10.
Their run would end, however, as the Lions responded with a 6-0 run of their own. Then, to close the quarter, guard Sean McCoy hit a 3-pointer at the halftime buzzer, pushing the lead to 39-18 at the break.
The game would slow down in the second half and become a battle of loose balls and rebounds. Dulaney, again, would win that battle, which allowed it to keep the lead throughout the second half. Dickey highlighted the play of Corley-Pugh inside, calling it one of the junior’s best games as he always seemed to find the ball coming off the glass.
Eastern Tech tried to mount one final push at the end of the third and into the fourth quarter. Guards Pefianco and Matthew Foley hit shots to get the Mavericks as close as 16, but Dulaney again answered, closing out the win.
