Solomon powers Broadneck past Arundel

Darnell Solomon simply could do no wrong Friday night. The Broadneck High junior swing man had a huge game with 31 points, 16 rebounds and five blocked shots as the No. 13 Bruins routed Arundel, 70-40, in an Anne Arundel County boys’ basketball game in Gambrills.

“In the first game I didn’t do well so tonight I wanted to step up big for my team,” said Solomon, who had nine points in the first meeting-a 36-33 Arundel victory in December.

“He [Darnell Solomon] is a pretty incredible athlete and a pretty incredible player and when plays like that we are very difficult to beat,” said Broadneck coach John Williams.

The chase for the Anne Arundel County title is again a dead heat with Arundel, Broadneck, Old Mill (an 82-48 winner over Northeast Friday) and Glen Burnie (an 87-63 winner over Meade Friday) tied for first at 10-2. The league champ will play the Howard County champ in the District V title game Feb. 22 at Mount Hebron.

Senior Taquan Colbert chipped in with 16 points and five steals for Broadneck (16-2 overall), and Brook Wiggans added 10. Bruins’ senior floor general Bobby Bates dished out nine assists. Tyler Washington was the leading scorer for Arundel (14-4) with 11 points.

The Wildcats got to hot start early in the first as the connected on 5 of 8 shots from the field to give themselves an early 11-8 lead in the first quarter. Solomon and the Bruin offense began getting on track, going on an 18-1 run over a five-minute stretch.

“I think our pace of play was good, we crashed the boards. There is no replacing being tough and having a lot of energy and we have a lot of energy tonight,” said Williams.

Despite Broadneck’s solid play throughout, Arundel was able to pilfer the ball from the Bruins as the Wildcats recorded 10 steals. Broadneck was strong defensively, consistently contesting Arundel shots.

“We came out with intensity and they were kind of laid back, but we came out and gave it our hardest,” said Solomon. 

Solomon was masterful during the 18-1 spurt, hitting seven shots in the second period with two coming from beyond the arc. Solomon cooled a bit in the second half, but Colbert picked up the slack as he scored 14 of his 16 points in the second half as the Bruins maintain a double-digit lead for majority of the game.        

“I just got out to slow start in the first half and I just to pick it up to help my team keep the lead,” said Colbert.

“They were executing offensively and they did great job defensively and nothing really worked for us tonight,” said Arundel coach Jeff Starr. “Our shooters didn’t shoot well and guys who usually defend well just had an off night.”

The Wildcats made a late 7-0 rally in the third to try to climb back into contest. Their efforts were thwarted as Solomon got cranking again as he scored nine of his eleven second half points in the final period. Two of Solomon’s baskets were of the slam dunk variety as they served as exclamation points for Broadneck.

“You are either ascending or descending and at this point of the season I think we are ascending and that is important as we get ready for post season play,” said Williams.