CLASS 4A STATE BOYS’ BASKETBALL SEMIFINAL
Patterson (24-1) vs. Eleanor Roosevelt (17-8)
When: Thursday, 7 p.m.
Where: Comcast Center, University of Maryland
Path to Comcast
Patterson defeated Dulnaey (98-69), Perry Hall (91-72) and Urbana (93-55) to win North Region; Eleanor Roosevelt defeated Parkdale (51-38), Henry A. Wise (60-53) and Charles H. Flowers (51-30) to win South Region
Team leaders
Scoring: Patterson-Aquille Carr (32 points per game); Eleanor Roosevelt-NieRonn Miles, Cameron Israel and Prince Okoroh (12 ppg.)
Rebounds: Patterson-Myrek Lee-Fowkles (9.5 rpg.); Eleanor Roosevelt-Okoroh (10 rpg.)
Assists: Patterson-Carr (7.6 apg.); Eleanor Roosevelt-Miles (6 apg.)
Steals: Patterson-Carr (4.5 spg.); Eleanor Roosevelt-Okoroh (4 spg.)
Outlook
No.1 Patterson looks to take another step in its bid for its first state championship. The Baltimore City league Division I champs ran roughshod to the North Region crown last week, averaging 94 points.
As usual, Carr was the driving force. The 5-foot-7 sophomore wunderkind rolled up 116 points in the regionals, including 43 against Urbana as the Clippers avenged a loss to the Frederick County school in last year’s region title game.
Roosevelt claimed its second consecutive South Region crown with its rout of Flowers. In the region semis, the Greenbelt school upset top-seed Wise, which went undefeated in Prince George’s County 4A league during the regular season.
The Raiders have earned a reputation of a stingy defensive unit, holding No. 3 Milford Mill to its lowest scoring output (51) back in December at the Milford Mill Holiday Mixer. Roosevelt allowed 40 ppg. in its three region playoff games, but it will be facing an entirely different animal in Carr and Patterson.
Coach Speak
Patterson’s Harry Martin on Roosevelt: “They probably want to keep the game in the 50’s and we probably we want it in the 70’s or 80’s. They have some kids down low like Okoroh who’s going to give us problems.”
By the numbers
5: Difference between total points allowed by Roosevelt (121) and scored by Patterson’s Aquille Carr (116) in playoffs.
1: Margin of defeat for Patterson against New York’s Cardozo (62-61), its’ only loss of the season.
26: Points scored by Prince Okoroh in Roosevelt’s 51-30 region final win over Flowers.
14: Number of state Final Four matches between Baltimore City and Prince George’s County. Prince George’s leads 8-6.
12: Number of games Patterson scored 85 or more points. The Clippers are the highest scoring team (84 ppg.) among the 16 state semifinalists.
