Hot-shooting Frederick ousts ’Jacks in quarters
BEL AIR – Defense has been a concern for Chesapeake College during various points of this men's basketball season, but the Skipjacks have consistently featured a high-octane offense.
Both failed the Skipjacks in Friday's state quarterfinal against Frederick Community College.
Third-seeded Frederick (20-8) shot nearly 64 percent from the field and committed just four turnovers in racing to a 53-33 halftime advantage. The Skipjacks, on the other hand, never got untracked offensively in an 83-60 loss to the Cougars at Harford Community College.
"It was a complete team breakdown," said Chesapeake head coach Joel Dearring. "We had some defensive miscues, but our offense was killing us, too."
Frederick, which shot 53 percent from the field for the game, advanced to a Saturday semifinal against second-seeded Hagerstown Community College. The Skipjacks (17-10) had their five-game winning streak snapped.
Markee Mazyck scored a game-high 21 points to pace Frederick, which placed four players in double figures. Mazyck and De'Ron Wiseman, who scored all of his points in the first half, each had 11 at the break, while Tee Talley had nine of his 14 points in the first half to spark Frederick's fast start.
Christo Majok (11 points) was the fourth Cougar in double figures.
Chesapeake shot just 33 percent from the field in the first half while the Skipjacks' starters were being outscored by Frederick regulars, 40-8. Jahmante Jackson came off the bench to score a team-high 16 points for Chesapeake while Geran Pope (10 points, 14 rebounds) was the only Skipjack starter to reach double digits.
Chesapeake scored 100 or more points 11 times during the regular season, including a 105-97 victory at Frederick.
"We beat them at their place and they made sure that wasn't going to happen again," said Dearring, whose squad didn't hit the 50-point mark Friday until less than 10 minutes remained in the game.
Chesapeake led just once, 2-0 on Chad Church's hoop off an offensive rebound. Mazyck quickly tied the game with a baseline jumper and Wiseman gave the Cougars the lead for good with a 3-pointer with 18:18 left in the half.
Frederick took control with a 13-2 run that gave the Cougars a 17-6 lead. Mike Jones scored the first five points of the spurt on a pair of driving layups, the second resulting in a three-point play, and Talley capped the streak by burying a 3-pointer with 15:01 left in the half.
The Skipjacks made a mini-run, getting back within 17-11 on a Dion Bivens 3-pointer. Frederick however, answered with seven straight points, the last five by Keon Scott (seven points) on a free throw and a pair of transition layups.
Frederick's lead reached 20 points on a Mazyck free throw that made it 43-23 and the Cougars maintained the cushion for the rest of the half.
The Cougars led by as many as 28 points in the second half.
Notes: Chesapeake's loss was the first in five games since losing sophomore standout Jimmie Jenkins to a knee injury. Jenkins – diagnosed Thursday with a meniscus tear that will require surgery – had 29 points in Chesapeake's regular-season win at Frederick. . . .
The Skipjacks shot just 32 percent from the field for the game and committed 22 turnovers to 14 by Frederick. Chesapeake finished with a 40-38 rebounding advantage. . . .
Chesapeake will travel to the United States Naval Academy for a 7 p.m. game on Monday, February 25th to play Navy's plebe team as a tune-up for the NJCAA Division II Region XX tournament. That tournament, which serves as a national qualifier, will take place March 1-3 at Hagerstown Community College.