Glenelg tops No. 19 Mount Hebron in VSN/Fox 45 Game of the Week

Glenelg’s boys basketball team knew a few days ago that their match-up with No. 19 Mount Hebron was one of four games nominated to be the VSN/Fox 45 Game of the Week. 

Gladiators coach Jansen McMillian told his team to get on their computers and make sure the camera would be on them on Friday night.

“One of my co-workers told me that we were nominated and then myself and the kids, we just started plugging away with the votes,” said McMillian.  “It was a total Glenelg effort.  I spent about an hour a day [voting].”

“[Coach McMillian] told all of us to vote this past week and we were really excited about it  when we first heard,” said senior Shane Kellaher.  “It was good…We need cameras here every game.”

It turned out that Glenelg won the vote by a landslide and also won their contest with the host Vikings in the same fashion.  The Gladiators jumped out to a quick 13-point lead after the first quarter and rolled to a 73-46 victory.

Highlights from each VSN/Fox 45 Game of the Week are featured on Friday night’s edition of Sports Unlimited.

“Coach was definitely talking about [being on television].  He said that we just needed to come out and play harder than we usually do, pressing a lot and playing hard defense,” said senior point guard Ryan Griffin.  “He wanted us to push the ball up the floor and get easy buckets. I think we did that well today.”

Glenelg won just five league games (seven overall) last season and savored the opportunity to show the area, on television, how much they’ve improved this year. With the win, the Gladiators moved to 8-3 overall and 8-1 in Howard County league play.

“It’s not too often that we get that opportunity and we wanted to relish it,” McMillian said. “I’m happy for them, that they were able to experience this type of environment during their high school careers.”

Kellaher scored a game-high 25 points while Griffin shot himself out of a recent slump with a 22-point effort, which included six made three-pointers.  Forward Erik Siegfried added 10 points for the Gladiators.

“I had my confidence tonight. I was shooting a lot before the game. I probably shoot 400 shots every day,” Griffin said. “The hard work is paying off.”

Deonte Moses paced Mount Hebron (7-4, 6-3) with 11 points. Malik Gilmore, Brian Shade and Omari Ringgold combined for 20 points.

The Gladiators opened the game with a 21-2 run to put the Vikings away early and marched to a 39-20 halftime margin.

“[Glenelg] shot really well,” said Mount Hebron coach Mike Linsenmeyer.  “They deserved to win the game. They had some great shots and came out with some intensity…We just didn’t play well and they did. You get your butt kicked when that happens.”

Trailing 34-9 in the second quarter, Ringgold scored three-straight buckets for the Vikings but they could not stop Glenelg’s offense to make a dent in the scoreboard.  Hebron never got closer than 14 points all night.

Glenelg returns to the court on Monday evening when it hosts River Hill, while Mount Hebron will also be in action on Monday when it travels to Dulaney (Baltimore County).

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