BEL AIR — Allegany College of Maryland earned a season sweep over Harford with a 69-61 victory on Wednesday.
“Another tough, physical game against Harford,” ACM head coach Tommie Reams said. “We did a really good job defensively of causing them fits. We spent a day in practice tweaking some things and it really payed dividends.”
The Trojans (9-2, 3-0 NJCAA Region 20) won the first meeting in overtime 87-80 on Nov. 11 at Bob Kirk Arena.
ACM led 29-27 at halftime and outscored the Fighting Owls (6-4, 1-2 Region 20) in the second half 40-34.
Allegany led for most of the second half and led 58-49. Harford scored nine unanswered and tied the game at 58 with 1:30 left.
“I give Harford’s kids a ton of credit,” Reams said. “They battled, they gave themselves a chance.”
The Trojans responded with four key possessions.
Up 59-58 with 1:20 left, Allegany takes a timeout. The Trojans immediately scored off the ensuing inbound as Jason Thomas hit a corner 3-pointer off a Cam Brown assist.
On the next possession, Christian Champagne hits a 3-pointer to go up by seven, and Lamont Jones gets a steal and hits both free throws after drawing a foul.
Within a span of 40 seconds, the Trojans went from a one-point lead to a nine-point lead.
“I told the guys it felt like a boxing match,” Reams said. “We finally landed a big blow, hit that haymaker that put them away.”
Jason Thomas led the Trojans with 20 points, adding nine rebounds and a block.
“I thought Jason did a good job, especially as the game wore on,” Reams said. “He was taking good shots. In the first half, we gave him some slack in the huddle about passing up open looks. He did a great job adjusting in the second half. If the defense leaves him open, he’ll catch and shoot.”
Lamont Jones scored 17 points with three rebounds and four steals.
Ron Brown added 11 points, four rebounds and two steals.
Cam Brown finished with nine points, six rebounds and five steals.
“Cam really paces us in terms of energy and the flow of the game,” Reams said. “I thought he did a really good job of getting guys involved. He was big on the glass, at his size, him being able to rebound stole possessions from Harford.”
Brown has been one of the best players in the country at forcing steals. Last year, he ranked fifth in the country with 3.5 steals per game.
NJCAA does not provide the national leaders for this season, however, Reams believes Brown is either first or second in the country so far.
Brown is also averaging 3.5 steals a night so far this year.
“His ability to turn the ball over and get us into our offense has been huge,” Reams said.
Chandler Johnson led Harford with 12 points, adding three assists and two steals.
Nate Lacey scored 11 points with five rebounds, two steals and two blocks.
Terry Long added nine points, 10 rebounds and four steals.
The Trojans get 10 days off before hosting Montgomery on Saturday, Dec. 3 at 3 p.m.
Reams mentioned two players that Allegany will need to focus on, Will Tchatchoua and Sebastian Dokum.
“Montgomery is a good basketball team,” Reams said. “They have two studs in the middle. Will is gonna be 20 points and 10 boards, he’s really physical, big motor, rebounds everything. (Dokum) is every bit of 6-foot-10, 260 pounds. He’s a really big rebounder, physical kid. We really have to take care of the glass. We won’t get many second chances.”