Hereford Hands Catonsville 62-34 Defeat

The Hereford Bulls ran out to a 10-0 lead on the visiting Catonsville Comets to start Friday night’s first round game, as the home squad coasted to a decisive 62-34 victory.

Catonsville had won the first two games of the season against the Bulls, but were unable to stop the sharp-shooting Hereford squad for a third consecutive time.

“Beating a team three times in a row is one of the most difficult things to do in basketball. The last time we played them, we hit a few key shots in critical moments to hold them off,” Catonsville coach Brian Barber said. “Hereford is a scrappy team, so we knew we were going to be in a dog fight. They were just hitting on all cylinders.”

A senior-laden squad with seven players in their final year, Catonsville is looking toward a new-look next season. Julian Singletary was called up from the junior varsity squad for the first round game, scoring nine points and grabbing seven rebounds.

“There is going to be a significant learning curve next season without having as many guys there that have been around the system,” Barber said. “That also means we’ll have a number of guys chomping at the bit to show what they’ve got. We have our work cut out for us.”

Meanwhile, Western Tech (13-7) erased a seven-point fourth quarter deficit, outscoring Joppatowne (14-1) during the last six minutes for a final score of 65 to 59.

Sammy Collins led the Wolverines with 22 points, Andre Jackson added 16 and Cory Tabb tallied all of his seven points during the fourth quarter while going 5-of-6 from the free-throw line. Six-foot-one guard Shendell Chase led the Mariners with 19 points.

“I think this gives us momentum to go the long haul,” Western Tech coach Mike Slepeskey said. “This shows us that even if we start out slow that we can come back. But if we come out fast, it’s going to be tough for anyone to keep up.”