Second Half Surge Leads Catonsville Past Men's Basketball

By Bryant Marks

Catonsville, MD -- Richard Bland College men's basketball succumbs to second-half comeback by CCBC Catonsville on Tuesday after being up big in the first half.

With the team now 5-7 with one game remaining before Winter Break, the next game stands to be crucial for setting the tone for the second half of the season.  After playing the last four games on the road, the team returns back home to play in front of a home crowd for their next contest.  That game will be played against Frederick Community College on Friday, December 13 at 7 pm at RBC's home arena, Statesmen Hall.

Beginning the game, the Statesmen got off to the start they wanted.  They controlled the pace up and down the court as they pushed the ball with the intention to put Catonsville away early.  After a Mykai Smith made three, the Statesmen went ahead 14-5 and would continue to get to the basket. With a little over six minutes left in the half, the Statesmen jumped out to the largest lead by either team in the game, leading by 18 with a 32-14 score.  Catonsville would fight their way back into contention and trail only by three with a minute left in the half, but the Statesmen stood their ground.  RBC led 39-32 going into halftime.  Entering the second, Catonsville went on a run of their own and take their first lead of the game with 10:30 left in the game. With four big free-throws, the Statesmen reclaimed their lead 74-71.  Late in the half foul trouble came back to bite them as the team lacked rebounding and would allow Catonsville to sneak back in a take the game 79-76.

Big play from the Statesmen today came from Kenneth Southerland who had a double-double as he scored 27 points and grabbed 16 rebounds.  Mykai Smith scored 12 of his 17 points in the first half and Corbin Slayton finished with 16 points, 4 assists, and 4 steals.