Dunbar

Defensively, the New Town boys basketball team came ready to play in Friday's Class 1A state semifinal against Brunswick. When the offense caught up in the third quarter, the No. 9 Titans had the necessary mix to secure a return visit to Saturday's state championship game. Senior Justin Brown scored 23 points and junior Danny Shand finished with 16 as New Town earned a 52-44 win over Brunswick at the University of Maryland's Comcast Center. The duo combined for 15 points in the pivotal third quarter.

The Benjamin G Eaton Coaches Clinic, sponsored by Clearpath Academics, will be held at Dunbar on June 22. Maryland coach Randy Edsall will present the morning keynote address and Towson coach Rob Ambrose will present the afternoon address. Among the other workshops, West Virginia wide receivers coach Lonnie Galloway will present on “Wide Receiver Fundamentals,” Maryland running backs coach Andre Powell on “Running Back Drills With a Purpose,” Dunbar defensive coordinator Michael Carter on “Eliminating Explosive Gains,” and Calvert Hall coach Donald Davis on “Rebuilding a Program.” For more information, click here .

It took a while, but Dunbar's girls basketball team finally hit its stride in the third quarter of Thursday night's state Class 1A semifinal. The two-time defending champion Poets used a 17-point spurt that began late in the second half and got rolling with two Kahla McIver 3-pointers to spark a 55-43 victory over Mardela at UMBC's RAC Arena. Once the Poets took a 39-36 lead on McIver's 20-footer to end the third quarter, they revved up their defense and hit the boards to hold the Warriors scoreless for nearly five minutes of the fourth.

No. 1 Dunbar comfortably found its way back to a familiar place Thursday, wrapping up the Class 1A South region with a 67-44 win over Ben Franklin-Masonville. The win sends the three-time defending state champions back to the state semifinals next week. The Poets (24-2) will be making their 19th state tournament appearance with sights on a record 15th championship.  They are currently tied with Allegany for most in Maryland history with 14.  Dunbar used a 9-0 run in the first quarter to build a 24-point halftime lead.  Reserves Montaque Wright and Keshawn Hampton played lead roles with 13 points each.  Daxter Miles also had 13 and Kamau Stokes finished with 11.  "It's always our goal to get to Comcast [Center, where the semifinals begin Thursday]

Maiya Gibson scored a game-high 23 points and host Western hung with No. 8 Poly for one half in girls basketball. But the Engineers (19-4) outhustled the Doves to win 51-35 Wednesday night in a Class 4A North regional semifinal. Sloppy play and turnovers troubled both teams in the first half, with Poly leading 20-17 at the break. In the second half, the Engineers, led by Jasmine Smith with 13 points, won the 50-50 balls and stretched their lead. No. 12 Howard 67, Stephen Decatur 33: Three players had more than 10 points each to lift the visiting Lions (21-3)

Maryland football will begin spring workouts on March 2 and hold practices at Baltimore's Dunbar High School on March 30 and Middletown High School in Frederick County on April 6. Holding practices on the road represents a new wrinkle for the program, which is eager to reach out to its fan base. Both practices begin at noon and are open to the public. Another new wrinkle: Instead of holding the red-white spring game on a Saturday afternoon, the game will be under the lights on Friday night, April 12 beginning at 7;00 p.m. Maryland was 4-8 last season.

West Virginia star wide receiver Tavon Austin once embarrassed a proud Oklahoma defense with his unique brand of elusiveness. Almost casually last November, the dynamic former Dunbar standout repeatedly made the Sooners' safeties and linebackers fall to the ground with a series of body-twisting cuts. Primarily lining up at running back, Austin piled up 572 all-purpose yards against Oklahoma for the second-highest single-game total in NCAA history. He rushed for 344 yards and two touchdowns, caught four passes for 82 yards and gained 146 yards on eight kick returns.

Dunbar senior guard Daxter Miles has shown a knack for the dramatics when the No. 2 Poets have played Edmondson this season. In an epic Baltimore City boys basketball championship game Tuesday at Morgan State - a well played and tightly contested battle that didn't have a defining moment until overtime, largely because neither team would budge - Miles once again stepped up at the opportune time. Trailing by two with nine seconds left in overtime, Miles sank a 3-pointer from the top of the key to give the Poets a thrilling 74-73 win over the No. 5 Red Storm for their second straight Division 1 championship.

The drawings for the boys and girls state basketball playoff brackets took place Sunday at Long Reach. The first round for the girls is scheduled for Friday and Saturday, while the boys are set to play first-round games on Tuesday, Feb. 26. The No. 3 Dunbar boys have a bye in the first round and will start their quest for a fourth consecutive state championship in the Class 1A South regional quarterfinals against the winner of the KASA-Fairmont Heights...

The No. 8 City boys basketball team gained a lot from a 68-53 win over No. 12 Poly on Friday in a regular-season finale that helped to determine the final spot in next week's Baltimore City Division I championship game. A strong collective effort led the Knights (17-5, 10-2 in Baltimore City Division I) to the victory over the visiting Engineers. The win helped City put aside the disappointing performance that came in Tuesday's 61-45 home loss to No. 3 Dunbar. But City's win ultimately proved to help No. 6 Edmondson the most as the Red Storm, which defeated Patterson on Friday, 70-52, advanced to play defending champion Dunbar in Tuesday's Division I city championship at Morgan State.