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Sports

Boys Basketball: Panthers Hope to Continue Playoff Run Tonight

Pikesville's boys basketball team, fresh off a dominant win against Sparrows Point, travels to face New Town tonight at 7 p.m. in the Class 1A North quarterfinals.

As Pikesville High School basketball coach Anthony Dorsey watched practice this weekend, he couldn’t help but notice the confidence and enthusiasm beaming from his players.

The young Panthers, who dropped 19 of their first 20 games to start the year, have been starting to turn the corner of late and have won two of their last three games, including last Friday’s convincing 70-47 victory against Sparrows Point in the first round of the Class 1A North playoffs.

Dorsey is eager to see how the momentum from those two wins carries into tonight’s Class 1A North quarterfinal matchup against New Town (17-5).

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“The last few games have been a huge confidence booster,” Dorsey said. “We’ve really matured. And we feel like we have nothing to lose at this point and aren’t going to hold anything back. We’re just going to keep doing what we’ve been doing and we’ll see if it works.”

Pikesville fell to New Town, 73-51, Jan. 21. But after falling behind 21-3 in the first quarter of that game, the Panthers were outscored by just three points the rest of the way.

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“If you take away the first quarter [of the first meeting], they were pretty even with us,” said New Town coach Mike Salapata. “And I’m sure they’ve only gotten better over the course of the year.”

Pikesville has three players, Jamelle Christian (9.9 points per game), Jared Kurlander (9.4) and Ethan Thompson (9.1), who average at least nine points per game, but Dorsey said he knows the Panthers will have a tall task in slowing down the offensively potent Titans.

Guards Tavon Geter (13.6), Jalen Clarke (10.5) and Devonte Coleman (10.2) are each averaging double-digit points per game while fellow guard Tre Washington (9.2) isn’t far behind. Coleman averaged a team-best 15 points per game last season.

But while New Town is a team undoubtedly anchored by its backcourt, throughout the year it has gained increased production from its post game, which has made the Titans even more dangerous offensively. Forward Jerrod Lemon, at 6 feet 5 inches tall, leads the team in rebounding (eight per game), and is averaging 9.7 points per game.

“They’re a very athletic team,” Dorsey said. “So the first thing that we need to do is slow them down before they even cross half-court. [Geter] is extremely quick and gets the ball upcourt and gets them into their sets. So we need to limit his touches and make somebody else be their main playmaker.”

Dorsey is also anxious to see how his Panthers fare against New Town’s tenacious full-court press, which induced Pikesville into numerous turnovers during the regular-season matchup.

“Turnovers were huge that game,” Dorsey said. “We couldn’t handle their press. And whether or not we take care of the ball against that press is going to be the key component of this game and will determine whether we’ll have a chance. I’m pretty sure we’ll see it early and hopefully we can beat it and get some shots at the basket at the other end.”

But especially after the win against Sparrows Point on Friday, Dorsey is confident the Panthers will compete against the surging Titans, who enter Monday having won seven of their last eight games.

“I’m very confident,” Dorsey said. “We know we’re the underdog, but we’re going to battle. Hopefully we can come out of there with a win.”

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