Arundel denies No. 15 Meade, claims Anne Arundel County boys basketball championship; Scott scores 22 (VIDEO HERE!)
2021-22 ANNE ARUNDEL COUNTY BOYS BASKETBALL CHAMPIONS
ARUNDEL WILDCATS
by Trevor Colgan
Special to VSN
Noah Frayer converted a fastbreak layup. Messiah Anderson hit another layup in transition and drew a foul. Elisha Williams stroked a 3-pointer off an inbound pass.
Frayer, Anderson and Williams’ baskets all came in the last minute of the first quarter. Those baskets extended an Arundel lead, a lead it didn’t relinquish the rest of the game.
The scores, after Meade’s turnovers, set the tone for the No. 20 Wildcats, who captured the Anne Arundel County championship with a 69-51 victory over the 16th-ranked Mustangs at South River.
“Great win for our team,” Arundel coach Rodney Ramsey said. “They’ve been putting in the work all year long.”
It’s the first league championship for the Gambrills school (17-3 overall) since 2012. Karris Scott led the Wildcats with 22 points.
Scott, a senior guard, helped the Wildcats overcome a slow start. Scott seemingly found the basket in the second half when Arundel needed it.
“We’ve been together for a while, been in a lot of chaotic situations,” Scott said. “The more we play together, the more you see. We realized it wasn’t as chaotic as it may have felt. We just played through it.”
A big reason was the Wildcats’ defense that held Meade to its lowest output of the season.
“Our strong point is defense,” Ramsey said. “That’s something I emphasize each and every day during practice. We always say our defense can transition to offense.”
A big part of the defensive effort was Arundel’s big man, Azim Sana. The senior post’s length gave him the advantage inside, blocking shot after shot.
Sana’s presence wasn’t felt as much in the team’s last meeting, a 63-62 Meade victory in Gambrills.
Sana showed up for the Wildcats’ penultimate game to date Saturday.
“The last time we played them, I was in my head a lot,” Sana said. “I kept it positive today, and played well.”
Andre Campbell led Meade (17-3) with 20 points, and Xaverion Roberson added 14. The Mustangs were plagued Saturday by poor shooting and turnovers.
It extended to the free throw line where the Mustangs were just 11-of-21.
“I thought we missed shots that a lot of times we make,” Meade coach Mike Glick said. “We were very poor from the line.”
The Mustangs were perfect in league play during the regular season. Glick will use Saturday as a teaching moment with the Class 4A state playoffs starting this week.
“I’d be really surprised if our players didn’t grow from it, or didn’t get better from it.” Glick said. “We got a really close-knit team. I think we’ll bounce back.”
The Mustangs could get another shot at Arundel in the East Region I final March 2. The state playoffs start Friday with region quarterfinal play.
Arundel last reached the state final four in 2001.
“One thing I try to emphasize is just be humble,” said Scott. “We can play hard and be humbled about it. Every game’s a big game, every game is going to change the future. I like to stay ‘Humble Arundel,’ that’s a term I developed today.”
Anne Arundel County basketball championship
at South River
No. 20 Arundel 69, No. 15 Meade 51
Arundel – Anderson 13, DeAndre Johnson 4, Sana 12, Thomas Loughry 8, Scott 22, Frayer 5, Williams 5. Totals 27 8-11 69.
Meade – Kyree Scott 2, Andre Campbell 20, Bryson Spruell 2, Xaverion Roberson 14, John Teague 6, Shawn Jones 7. Totals 18 11-21 51.
Arundel 19 15 23 12 — 69
Meade 10 15 17 9 — 51
