Defense travels and New Town High boys basketball is headed to the Class 2A state semifinals.
The fourth-ranked Titans defeated Elkton, 64-26, in a state quarterfinal in Cecil County Saturday.
Senior guard/forward Cam Sparrow scored 17 points, and Arrington Greenfield added 12 for New Town (23-3 overall).
The Baltimore County champs held the UCBAC Susquehanna Division’s top squad this season to nine field goals to advance to their first state semifinal since 2020. New Town will play Wicomico from Wicomico County, Tuesday at Henry A. Wise in Prince George’s County.
The Owings Mills school has won four straight since losing its regular season finale at Parkville (82-74). The Titans returned to Parkville a couple of days later and handed the Knights their first loss, 61-53, in the Baltimore County championship.
New Town allowed just 61 points total in victories over Owings Mills and Hereford to win the North Region I crown. Saturday, the Titans held Elkton (19-4) to its lowest output of the season.
New Town led, 38-15, at halftime as Sparrow scored 15 points. The Titans limited Elkton to 11 points (four field goals) in the second half.
Kyle Jackson led Elkton with nine points.
Overlea fell short of a second straight 2A semifinal berth, dropping a 76-72 decision to Prince George’s County’s Largo in a 2A state quarterfinal in Baltimore County. Cam Ward scored a game-high 33 points for Largo.
In a back-and-forth final quarter, the Lions gained their final lead as Ward, a 6-foot-6 forward/post who’s regarded as one of the nation’s top sophomores, scored off a layup with 2 minutes, 18 seconds left in regulation.
The Lions extended the lead to 74-69 on Jalen Johnson’s basket with 51 seconds remaining, but Korey Blair’s 3-pointer got Overlea within a basket with 34 seconds left. The Falcons fouled Christian Ware with about six seconds left, and the freshman guard converted two free throws for a 76-72 advantage.
Overlea threw the ball away on the ensuing possession. Tjay Backles led the Falcons (19-5) with 30 points, and Blair finished with 17.
Liberty’s road ended in Frederick County in a 69-42 loss to Walkersville. The hosts scored 12 of the game’s first 13 points and led 27-17 at halftime.
The Carroll County Athletic League champ Lions (19-6) got to within 29-20 early in the third on Michael Tombs’ 3-pointer. Walkersville pushed the lead to 50-33 after three periods, and led by as many as 30 points in the fourth.
Senior guard Tyler Downs led Liberty with 17 points.
