Dunbar starts slow, then rolls, 79-62

WYE MILLS, Md. -- One team made it this far by romping over its last opponent by 32 points. The other was fortunate to be here, needing a late fourth-quarter rally and overtime to advance.

Needless to say, the No. 2-ranked Dunbar Poets were the ones on a roll coming into last night's Class 2A, East Region final. And though it took them longer than usual to get started, they continued to move forward with a 79-62 victory over Cambridge-South Dorchester at Chesapeake College.

Norman Nolan and Billy Wells each scored 20 for the top-seeded Poets (22-3), who will make their second consecutive trip to the state tournament at the University of Maryland College Park. Last year, they defeated Cambridge, 66-60, in the 1A final.

The Poets led by just two points, 15-13, after the first quarter, and 29-23 less than three minutes before halftime. But a 6-0 run, on baskets by Wells, Jerald Singletary and Alexander Mobley, put some distance between the teams, and Dunbar took a 38-25 lead into the third quarter.

Cambridge, with its bothersome full-court press, wouldn't go away quietly. A three-pointer by Gary Bryan with 5:06 left had the Vikings down, 58-48, and thoughts of an upset still lingered.

But not for long.

Dunbar made nine straight free throws to increase its lead to 67-48 with 3:06 left, and the door finally had been slam shut on Cambridge.