Kenny Minor scored 19 points and James Taylor added 10 as the top-ranked Dunbar boys basketball team overcame a 29-point effort from Marcus Harrison to beat visiting and No. 20 Mervo, 56-52, yesterday.
Minor also got support from Victor Molen, who had eight points, five rebounds and five blocked shots; Reggie Cornell, with five rebounds and four points; and Steve Miller, with nine points and five rebounds.
Dunbar (19-1, 6-0) won its 12th straight, clinching the Division II crown and berth in the Feb. 21 City title game against No. 4 Lake Clifton, No. 7 Southern or No. 11 Douglass of Division I. Mervo is 14-6, 5-2.
No. 7 Southern-Baltimore 75, Forest Park 25: Melvin Scott (17 points), Damien Spence (16), Shawn Brown (12) and Renardo Dickerson (11 points, six rebounds) led the Bulldogs, whose third straight win since losing to Lake Clifton raised their record to 15-4 overall, 6-1 in Division I.
No. 11 Douglass 82, Carver 75: Douglass (14-4, 6-1 Division I) remained in a three-way tie for the lead with Southern and Lake Clifton. Lake Clifton defeated Southern on an overtime basket but lost to Douglass on a buzzer-beating tap-in. Southern has beaten Douglass.
Tyler Smith scored 29, Raymond Dickens 20 and Gerald 15 as the Ducks overcame a 37-36 halftime deficit and a big effort from Carver's Alfred Washington, who scored 30.
Washington was among three Carver players to foul out of the game. Jonte Hall (21 points) and Will Smith (10) helped the Bears (12-8).
No. 4 Lake Clifton 94, Patterson 46: Antonio Regis (19 points), Aaron Cook (13), Corey Hargrove (12), Kyle Garrison (12) and Laysean Hall (10) were part of a balanced attack for the Lakers (15-3, 6-1 Division I), winners of seven straight.
No. 3 Towson Catholic 56, Goretti 54: Carmello Anthony scored 29, including nine points in the pivotal third period, as the Owls (17-8) overcame a six-point halftime deficit to win in Hagerstown.
No. 5 Dulaney 92, Loch Raven 28: The Lions (19-1) rebounded from Thursday's loss to Milford Mill, cruising past the Raiders in Baltimore County league play. Nathan Hopkins led Dulaney with 21 points. Justin Eve led Loch Raven with 10 points.
No. 9 Eastern Tech 58, Hereford 38: The Mavericks (18-2, 13-0) remained undefeated in Baltimore County league play as Rickey Benson (22 points) went 8-for-10 from the field, including 3-for-5 from three-point range. Antoine McCall (nine points, seven rebounds) also contributed.
No. 12 Glen Burnie 73, North County 58: The Gophers went 15-for-16 at the free-throw line over the game's final three minutes, led by Keith Williams who scored 15 of his 17 points in the second half. He also finished with five rebounds and three assists.
Others playing well for Glen Burnie (17-3) were Shon Osborne (13 points, 10 rebounds), Ray Cromwell (18 points, five rebounds) and Matt Blick (14 points). Blick went 8-for-8 from the free-throw line in the fourth period and scored 11 points in the second half.
No. 16 Spalding 71, Loyola 37: Senior guard Chris Ravello had all 19 of his points in the first quarter to lead the Cavaliers (13-3, 8-4) past Catholic League rival Loyola. Sophomore Matt Latonic and senior Ayinde Simon added nine points each
No. 18 South Carroll 83, Damascus 72: DeMatha transfer Marshall Strickland (38 points) sank four three pointers, grabbed six rebounds and was 6-for-8 from the foul line; D.J. Hines (16 points) went 6-for-7 from the line and had five rebounds, and Josh Boone (12 points) blocked three shots and grabbed eight rebounds as the Cavaliers (15-4) won their seventh straight.
No. 19. C. Milton Wright 59, Havre de Grace 57, 2OT: With the scored tied at 57 with seven seconds left in the second overtime, Justin Rice (21 points) hit a layup to lift the Mustangs (14-5) over the visiting Warriors (7-10). C. Milton Wright's Matt Weigl had 17 points.
Girls basketball
No. 1 River Hill 72, Centennial 46: Greeba Outen Barlow, last year's Howard County Player of the Year, scored 23 points to lead the Hawks (18-1) over the Eagles (10-9).
Keiko Miller-Tate (nine points) scored her 1,000th point, and Ashley Evans led Centennial with 19 points.
Riverdale Baptist 66, Seton Keough 54: Seton Keough players Keisha Blackwell (13 points), Jackie Valderas (12) and Sara Franz (10) could not prevent their team from joining No. 1 River Hill, No. 2 Arundel, No. 16 McDonogh and St. Mary's as teams from the Baltimore area that have lost to Riverdale Baptist this season.
Seton Keough dropped to 21-4, and Riverdale Baptist (19-2), ranked No. 1 in the Washington Post, won its ninth straight.
No. 4 Mount Hebron 67, Atholton 32: Three Vikings (18-1, 14-1) were in double figures in their win over the Raiders.
Sophomore forward Kristen Waagbo led all scorers with 19 points. Junior center Crystal Griner added 13 points and sophomore guard Ghera Wolven had 10 points in the victory.
No. 5 St. Frances 46, Newport Prep 35: Senior forward Brooke Campbell scored 17 points and added seven rebounds and four steals as the Panthers (22-3) were victorious in a game played at the University of Baltimore.
Latonya Blue had eight points, six assists and five steals.
No. 8 Randallstown 62, Towson 47: Raven Chase scored 24 points and pulled down 12 rebounds to lead the Rams (14-4) past the Generals in Baltimore County league action. Shaquan Chambers added eight points in the win.
No. 10 Mercy 59, C. Milton Wright 42: The Magic (15-10) dominated the Mustangs behind the backcourt of junior B.J. Banjo (19 points, five rebounds) and sophomore Colette Hailey (14 points, five rebounds).
No. 15 Catonsville 60, Franklin 31: Senior guard Maura Lentz had a game-high 18 points and six assists, and Dani Packer added 12 points and 11 rebounds as the Comets (17-4, 13-0) hammered the Indians in Baltimore County league play.
