Senior Jarale Barnes is one of the leaders on a youthful Great Mills boys basketball squad this season that features just four players that are returning from last season’s squad.
“Jarale Barnes is a very good player and he is our leader along with Isiah [Mills],” Hornets head coach Jeff Burrell said.
On Wednesday night, hosting the North Point Eagles in a Southern Maryland Athletic Conference crossover game, Barnes and Mills each scored a game-high 16 points to help lead the Hornets to a 64-40 victory over the visitors.
“This was a good regular season win for us,” said Burrell, in his fourth year at the helm. “Playing against North Point and most of the teams in SMAC is always good competition, especially in the top tier which North Point is always right there. They are very well-coached and play very hard.”
The Hornets (9-3 overall) raced out to an early lead on a three-pointer from junior Terrance Green just 45 seconds into the game. Mills and Barnes added layups as Great Mills led 7-0 roughly two minutes into the contest.
“Honestly, I thought tonight’s game was going to be harder than what it was, but we just came out being motivated and ready to go and play our game,” Barnes said.
The Hornets wasted no time in taking control of the game with a 17-8 edge after the opening quarter which quickly ballooned to double digits roughly halfway through the second quarter.
“You have to give credit to Great Mills,” said North Point head coach Jimmy Ball, in his 15th season at the helm. “The coaches do a great job over there and their kids were ready to play. They are very athletic and took advantage of every opportunity they were given. They knocked down their threes, had a couple of and-ones and played hard. I just want to tip my hat to them, they did a great job today.”
With 2 minutes 35 seconds left until the half, Ball called a timeout after Barnes threw down a vicious one-handed slam that sent the gymnasium into a frenzy with the hosts leading 35-14.
“This is my senior year, and I was like it was just time to unleash everything,” Barnes said.
North Point (6-6) ended the opening half on a 6-0 scoring run, but could not get any closer as the deficit continued to grow in the third quarter.
“We have practiced really hard and just executed our game plan to come out with the win as a team,” Barnes said.
The Eagles were outscored 17-6 in the third quarter and struggled to get their shots to fall and trailed 52-26 entering the final eight minutes.
“I think today our guys focused a lot and played great defense,” Burrell said. “To hold North Point to 40 points is lower than normal and it was a testament to those guys hard work on the defensive end. I have to give coach Ron some love because he came to me and we compromised on some defensive schemes and it worked out in our favor thanks to him.”
Barnes and Mills were the only Great Mills players in double figures with 16 points apiece. Green and junior Kevin Woodland each scored eight points.
“It is always one game at a time and one possession at a time for us,” said Burrell, whose team is slated to be at Calvert for its next contest at 6:30 tonight. “We always want to work hard for what we are trying to accomplish. With all these teams attacking one another, things open up for everyone else. The wins and losses will come, but I think we will stay on the winning side of things if we just stay disciplined, work hard and trust one another.”
North Point senior Jayvin Brown led the visitors with nine points and senior Andre Brantley chipped in with eight.
“Right now, we are struggling and trying to find ourselves,” said Ball, whose team’s next scheduled contest is at La Plata at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday. “That is not a good thing right now at the midway point of the season, but we have to be ready to come back out and compete.”
Twitter: @johnniswander2
