Tevin Hanner scored 16 points and Ryan Jackson added 13 as No. 5 Milford Mill topped Arundel, 53-40, at the Milford Mill Holiday Mixer Monday evening. Leading 26-22 at halftime, Milford Mill (5-0 overall) opened the third with a 12-4 run to blow the game open.
Despite remaining unbeaten, Millers coach Albert Holley wasn’t impressed.
“I don’t think they’re executing the way they supposed to. When they don’t execute, they’re not listening. When you put the two together, we’re not playing very well,” said Holley. “We got new faces who don’t understand how we do things so it’s part of the process.”
“It’s a win, but it covers up a lot of mistakes,” said Hanner, whose team won the Class 3A state championship last winter. “Coach Holley said it’s a process, seeing where we at right now with different lineups. No matter who’s out there we got to play defense.”
Hanner sparked the Millers offensively in the third, scoring his team’s first eight points, including a quick spin move in the paint for a dunk. Milford Mill expanded its advantage to 38-26 as Isaiah McCray found Brandon Carter for a short jumper.
Arundel (4-3) closed the margin to 38-30 at the end of the third quarter on a basket by Elonte Allen. The Wildcats got to 44-37 after a four-point play by Julian Sellers, but scores by McCray (six points) and Duane Miller pushed the Millers’ lead back to double digits.
“It was there, all we had to do was make a mini-run in the fourth but it never happened,” said Arundel coach Jeff Starr. “We just went cold instead of trying to take five-footers and layups, we took eight to 12-footers. When you’re on a three to four day layoff, those shots might not go down in the second half.”
Shots fell in the second quarter for Jackson, who scored eight straight for Milford Mill, breaking a 15-15 tie. Jackson finished with all 11 Miller points in the second including three three-pointers.
The Wildcats match up with No. 19 River Hill Tuesday evening at 6:15 p.m. at Milford Mill. The Millers take on Eleanor Roosevelt from Prince George’s County in the tournament finale at 8 p.m. Roosevelt reached the Class 4A state semifinals last March.
“It’ll be much different type of game than tonight, more wide open,” said Holley. “We haven’t played a whole lot of tough teams so far this year so we’re looking forward to the challenge.”
CLICK RELATED VIDEO TAB AT TOP OF ARTICLE FOR GAME HIGHLIGHTS!
