Boys Basketball: Panthers' Season Ends with 81-55 Loss

Jalen Clarke and Malcolm Brown combined for 33 points as New Town cruised to an 81-55 win against Pikesville in Monday’s Class 1A North quarterfinal matchup.

The Titans (18-5) jumped out to an 18-5 lead in the first quarter, extended their lead to 35-21 by halftime and led by no less than 11 the rest of the game.

“We were able to get out on the break and get some easy baskets,” New Town coach Mike Salapata said. “We came in wanting to get the lead early and I think we pretty much were in control after we made the early run.”

Jamelle Christian led the Panthers with 22 points, but Pikesville was unable to slow down the up-tempo Titans, who also got double-digit points from Devonte Coleman (10 ), Jerrod Lemon (10) and Tavon Geter (10). Clarke had a team-high 17.

“We weren’t hitting shots early,” Pikesville coach Anthony Dorsey said. “We missed some easy layups and some short jump shots. And then in the second half, they started to press us and we didn’t handle the press like we should’ve and they just opened up the game from there.”

The Panthers (3-21) entered Monday having won two of their last three games, including a 70-47 win against Sparrows Point in the first round of the Class 1A playoffs last Friday.

But while Monday’s outcome was a disappointing end to its recent turnaround, Dorsey is excited for Pikesville’s potential heading into next season. The Panthers will return six of their top 10 scorers from this year’s team, including Christian, who led the team with an average of 10.4 points per game.

“Of course, I would’ve liked to have won, but I’m not disappointed,” Dorsey said. “I’m very happy with the effort we put forth and I’m very optimistic for next year. We’re ready to get right back to work for next season.”

New Town, meanwhile, will look to take another step toward its first regional title since 2007 Wednesday night against Patterson Mill (15-5) in the Class 1A North semifinals. Since winning the Class 1A state championship in 2007, the Titans have failed to advance past the regional semifinals in any of the last three seasons. They will look to change that Wednesday.

“We have to win three games to win the regional title and (Monday night) was step one,” Salapata said. “That’s the way we’re looking at it.”