Owings Mills High boys’ basketball coach Richard Epps thought Carjahn Jenkins was timid in the first half of Saturday’s contest against Calvert Hall College.
“He wasn’t being aggressive,” said Epps. “I told him you got to make yourself a threat out there.”
Jenkins got the message, and the Eagles continued its hot start to open the season. Owings Mills rallied past the Cardinals, 59-54, at the Under Armour Invitational at St. Frances Academy.
Jenkins, a senior guard, led all scorers with 18 points for Owings Mills (3-0 overall), and junior Kyle Thomas added 15. Matt Bosse had 11 points for Calvert Hall (3-4), and Denzel Richardson finished with 1o.
Jenkins’ three-pointer with 1 minute, 20 seconds remaining in regulation, pulled the Eagles even at 52. After a Calvert Hall miss, Jenkins drained another three-pointer for the lead with 54 seconds left.
“They believed in me,” said Jenkins, who scored 14 points in the second half. He’s one of two starters back from last season’s squad that reached the Class 1A state championship game.
A pair of free throws by Tyson Smith followed by one from Thomas, extended Owings Mills’ advantage to 58-52 as the Baltimore County school sent the defending Baltimore Catholic League champions to a second loss in as many as days. The Eagles already own victories over Franklin (77-50) and Mervo (70-54).
“This is a young team and they’ve went through three different type of games,” said Epps. “They went through an emotional rivalry game, a live game with Mervo, then today against a quality team like Calvert Hall. They might have graduated 10 kids, but they have a great program.”
The Cardinals, who lost to No. 3 Patterson Friday evening, led 13-5 after the first quarter Saturday before the Eagles stormed back. With Thomas, Jenkins and Smith combining for 16 points, Owings Mills outscored Calvert Hall, 20-8, for a 25-21 halftime advantage.
“This is a great win,” said Jenkins. “I feel this will elevate us to the next level.”
