Harford CC guard Isaiah White finished with 17 points and 9 rebounds in a key conference win
In a key conference battle, Montgomery College (15-6/7-4) hosted first place Harford Community College (17-5/ 10-1) looking to gain ground in the standings in the competitive Maryland Juco conference. The Raptors put up a fight behind sophomore center Patrick Smith's 18 points and 14 rebounds, however, Harford proved why they're number one in the conference currently, holding on for a 73-62 win.
Montgomery jumped out to a 11-8 lead early behind their swarming defense causing turnovers and capitalizing with inside scoring from wings Ramel Davidson (12 points, 7 rebounds, 4 assist) and Andre Hood (13 points and 8 rebounds). Harford needed a spark despite White keeping it close offensively, and it came from back-up point guard Trent McCallum. McCallum (16 points and 4 assist) came in and knocked down back to back 3-pointers and harassed Raptors guards defensively to spark a 26-16 run to take a 34-27 halftime lead.
Second half saw Montgomery sophomore center Patrick Smith put the team on his back. The Raptors, behind Smith's 18 points and 14 rebounds cut Harford's lead to four as they trailed 52-48 at the 7:10 mark. The Fighting Owls, wouldn't be denied. Timely play making and scoring from White, McCallum and guard Aaron McDonald (11 points) down the stretch resulted in Harford's 17th win on the season.
Harford forward Martin Kelly posted 13 points off the bench while center Dom Keyes added 8 points and 11 rebounds. Chris Johnson added 12 points to help pace Montgomery. Next up Harford will travel to take on Garrett College Saturday at 5 pm while Montgomery will host CCBC Catonsville Saturday at 3:30 pm respectively.
Patrick Smith was a man amongst boys, as he posted 18 points and 14 rebounds
Harford point guard Trent McCallum was huge with 16 points off the bench and the x-factor in the win
Andre Hood finished with 13 points and 8 rebounds for the Raptors