Stevenson, MD - As they took on one of their
biggest challenges to date, the Mustangs conquered the Capital
Athletic Conference 3rd place team Hood College 78-73 in an intense
home contest. The first time these two opponents met this season,
Villa Julie surrendered a 69-56 victory to the then-number-one CAC
team.
Villa Julie's men wasted no time getting control of
the first half, leaving the Blazers (14-10, 8-7) scoreless for the
first three minutes of the period. At 17:06, a steal from
Greg Collins (Baltimore, MD/ Western
Tech.) led and two points from Greg Woody
(Baltimore, MD/ Mt. St. Joseph) set the score at 8-0. But
Hood managed to hold the Mustangs to eight, tying 8-8 with Villa
Julie at 14:33.
Each team struggled to break beyond a tie, and at
6:34, a two-hand dunk from Jeremy Bernard
(Baltimore, MD/ Western Tech.) took the score to
31-23 with the home team seeking the advantage. Though the Blazers
played a solid half, the Mustangs outscored their opponents 44-35
to end the period.
Returning to the floor, hoping for a repeat
performance, the Mustangs didn't let up after returning from the
locker room. Ely Richardson (Hartford, CT/ Suffield
Academy) was first to score with a layup in under 10
seconds. With A 3-point shot from Vincent Johnson
(Baltimore, MD/ Southern) at 4:42, The Mustangs were still
ahead 54-47. The Blazers proved themselves as tough competitors,
never slowing down their tempo and nearly tying with the Mustangs
at each possession. However, Villa Julie was able to hold on to the
lead down to the final seconds and claim the win.
Woody was the leading scorer for the Mustangs,
accumulating 27 point total. Broderick Hill (Largo, MD/
Bishop McNamara) tallied 15 points, 14 in just the first
half; Johnson finished with 14 points, and
Bernard finished with 11 points and led the team
in rebounding with a total of nine boards.
The Mustangs will host the University of Mary Washington on
Saturday, Feb. 23 in their last home contest of the regular season
at 4pm. This will also mark a special day for the Mustangs as they
honor their lone senior, Vincent 'Cory' Johnson.
