Fourth quarter run propels Elkton to victory over Bohemia Manor

After a bucket by Bo’s Uzziah Morton to put the Eagles up 38-37 less than a minute into the fourth, Elkton went on a 14-0 run filled with forced turnovers and transition buckets to hand the Elks a 56-40 win.

Elkton’s fourth quarter push put away what was a close three quarters of play. The Eagles held a three-point lead at halftime and trailed by one-point entering the fourth.

Golden Elks Head Coach Charles Givens Sr. said he felt the Eagles were beating his team up and down the floor in the first half. Givens noted the intensity changed in the second half.

“It for some reason switched, [Bohemia Manor] got tired and we had energy,” Givens said. “I thought it was just a matter of time that we were going to do it and we did.”

Bohemia Manor Head Coach Sandy Grimes said his team’s own turnovers were the driving force behind Elkton’s fourth quarter run.

“I don’t know if we got tired, but we just turned it over too much,” Grimes said. “It’s disappointing, we turned it over three straight times and turned a one-point deficit into eight.”

Elkton’s Obote Briscoe led the Golden Elks in scoring with 14 points, while D.J. Piner and Kyle Jackson finished the night in double figures. Elkton’s trio combined for 12 of the Elks’ 14 points during the game-sealing run.

Jackson said Elkton focused on pressuring the Bohemia Manor offense in the second half. He added they wanted to force the Eagles’ ball handlers to use their non-dominant hand while possessing the basketball and force Bo Manor turnovers.

“A lot of them could only dribble with their right hand, so when you pressure the ball they put it to their left and a lot of turnovers were forced,” Jackson said. “We got fast break opportunities out of it.”

Bohemia Manor connected on five three-pointers in the second quarter and turned a seven-point deficit at the end of the first quarter into a three-point lead. Landon Horsey connected on three of the five triples in the second quarter for the Eagles. The Bohemia Manor sophomore finished with 15 points.

Horsey scored 11 points in the second quarter alone.

Bo Manor’s ability to connect from deep came to a halt in the second half. The Eagles did not make a three-point basket in the final two quarters and Horsey scored just four points in the final two frames.

Briscoe said Elkton’s defense focused to limit Horsey’s scoring opportunities in the second half.

“We played him better on playing defense in a [3-2 zone],” Briscoe said. “When he came up, we trapped him on the right wing and forced a turnover or forced him to get the ball out of his hands.”

The loss to the Golden Elks is Bo Manor’s ninth defeat of the year. Grimes said he has three sophomores and a freshman playing major minutes for the Eagles this year. He views this kind of loss as a growth opportunity for his young team.

Bo Manor (2-9) hosts Harford Christian on Thursday.

“It’s growing pains,” Grimes said. “We’re going to stay positive, that’s the most important thing.”

Elkton extended its winning streak to 10 games with the victory. The Golden Elks (10-1) will host Rising Sun (2-9) on Friday.