Oakland Mills

No. 12 Oakland Mills at River Hill When: Wednesday, 5:30 p.m. Coaches: Jon Browne, Oakland Mills; Matt Graves, River Hill PLAYERS TO WATCH Oakland Mills: Lavon Long, Sr., F; Dajuan Dent, Sr., F; Marvin Williams, Jr., G River Hill: Walt Moody, Sr., F; Charles Thomas IV, So., F-C; Gary Sandler, So., G KEYS TO VICTORY Oakland Mills remains unbeaten this season (15-0), including 12 victories against Howard County competition. Long, a dominating transfer from Mount St. Joseph, plays well in his role as the team leader, but the Scorpions' size, athleticism and depth have also separated them from the rest of the pack.

After needing fourth-quarter comebacks in each of its previous two games, the No. 12 Oakland Mills boys basketball team made things a little easier on itself Wednesday against Centennial. On the strength of a 21-3 run in the first quarter, the visiting Scorpions (15-0) built themselves a double-digit lead and never looked back en route to a 75-63 victory. Lavon Long (19 points, 15 rebounds and six blocks) led four Oakland Mills players in double figures. "We got off to a tremendous start, and a lot of it came off our pressure," Oakland Mills coach Jon Browne said.

Boys basketball No. School Record Prev. 1. St. Frances 22-2 1 2. Dunbar 11-1 3 3. John Carroll 19-6 7 4. Mount St. Joseph 19-4 2 5. Milford Mill 12-1 4 6. City 13-1 6 7. Arch. Spalding 14-6 5 8. Poly 11-3 8 9. Arundel 13-2 9 10. Edmondson 10-3 10 11. Boys' Latin 16-3 11 12. Oakland Mills 14-0 12 13. Lake Clifton 10-4 13 14. Randallstown 11-3 14 15. Dulaney 14-0 - Other teams considered: Ben Franklin-Masonville (10-2)

Girls basketball Standings (as of Jan. 22) River Hill, 10-1 county, 11-3 overall; Reservoir, 10-2, 10-2; Howard, 9-2, 12-2; Mt. Hebron, 9-3, 10-4; Glenelg, 6-5, 8-6; Oakland Mills, 6-5, 8-6; Atholton, 5-6, 6-6; Long Reach, 4-7, 6-8; Centennial, 4-7, 5-9; Marriotts Ridge, 3-8, 3-9; Wilde Lake, 1-10, 2-11; Hammond, 0-11, 0-11; Chapelgate, 7-2 IAAM C, 12-4; Glenelg Country, 4-7 IAAM C, 4-8. Boys basketball Standings (as...

Brenna Doherty's dream of becoming a world-class figure skater has had its share of bumpy landings. They began when Doherty was a freshman at Oakland Mills High in Columbia. After making the finals at junior nationals at ages 13 and 14, Doherty thought she wanted to try being a typical teenager. "When I first entered high school, I wanted to be a part of the Homecoming committee, and all kinds of stuff like that," Doherty, now 18, recalled recently. "I followed my friends and joined some of their clubs, but I definitely decided it wasn't for me. I wanted to go to the ice rink every day and train.

Something looks familiar in the Howard County boys basketball scene these days. It was just two seasons ago that Oakland Mills ran the table in the regular season, going 22-0 and then winning the District V championship before falling in the Class 2A South regional final to finish with a 25-1 mark.  This season, eighth-year coach Jon Browne -- who has a 108-64 career record -- has the No. 12 Scorpions at 11-0 with a talented squad that features...