Walk-Ons Shine As Cardinals Blow Past Titans

CCBC Catonsville continued its march to the top of Region 20 with a big win last Friday, downing the Community College of Beaver County 93-69.

After leading by only three at the half, the Cardinals opened up a massive lead in the second half, courtesy of a big scoring day from sophomore guard Murray Grant (Obra D. Tomkins). The highlight of the night came in the closing minutes, as both of Catonsville's walk-ons managed to score points.

The Cardinals started slowly, unable to pull away from the Titans in the opening minutes. Catonsville's defense managed to contain Beaver County's leading scorer Dakari Bradford, but the Titans responded by feeding the ball to other players. Leading 35-32 at the half, the Cardinals needed a spark.

The spark would come nine minutes into the second half. Catonsville had opened a lead thanks to three-pointers from Grant, sophomore forward Jason Ogbolu (Calvert Hall), and sophomore guard Jamal Lee (Cristo Jesuit). With eleven minutes to go, sophomore forward Albright Obode (Plainfield) slammed down a massive dunk to put the Cardinals up by ten. Two minutes later, Obode hit his second dunk of the game courtesy of an ally-oop from freshman guard Di'Quan Green (Carver Vo Tech).

It was all Cardinals from there. Green sank back-to-back threes to put the Cardinals up by 20 and head coach T.J. Prioleau sent in his bench players to mop up. Entering the game for the Cardinals were sophomore guard Cameon Scott (Randallstown) and freshman guard Amarian Joseph (Loch Raven). The two walk-ons hadn't seen much action this year and were eager to show what they could do. Scott struck first, nailing a deep three-pointer with two minutes to play. It was his first time scoring since dropping five points against Washington Adventist in November.

In the final minute, Joseph would get his chance to shine. With seconds left, Joseph took a pass from sophomore forward Jonathan Chester (Largo) and sank a buzzer-beating three for his first career points. Joseph was mobbed by his teammates and coaches in one of the most memorable moments of the season.

Grant finished as the leading scorer with 31 points. Ogbolu scored 13 points and collected three rebounds and three assists. Sophomore guard Jo-Nathan Kelly (Strawberry Mansion) added 11 points off the bench, while Green scored eight points, nine rebounds, and seven assists.

Next up for the Cardinals is a match with the College of Southern Maryland on February 5.