Elkton's boys basketball team improved to 3-0 on the season with a 68-63 triumph over visiting Bel Air Friday night. The Elks knocked down 10 three-pointers and never trailed over the final three and a half quarters.
Farid Stephens poured in a team-high 25 points and hit three three-pointers. Marquis Battle scored 14 of his 24 points in the first quarter and had four three-pointers for the game. Dah'mear Triplett buried three three-pointers and finished with 12 points. "Farid can shoot three-pointers," Elkton coach Charles Givens Sr. said. "Marquis has learned how to shoot the three-point shot over the summer. Dah'mear can shoot the three-point shot. Those three shot well." Bel Air enjoyed some success down low during the early going and trailed 20-19 at the end of the first quarter. Givens says the Elks have the potential to have more of a presence in the paint and it's imperative that happens as the season progresses. "It's very important," said Givens. "We tried that but it ain't happening…We sometimes just use a little person to play the middle." Elkton allowed Bel Air to stay within striking distance until the third quarter. "I really wasn't thrilled," Givens said. "I think we we had a lot of easy shots and the kids just didn't capitalize on it. I just tell them to go shoot a simple layup but they want to go and turn their hand, put english on the ball. They want to twist and do everything except the right thing. As a result of that, you don't even make the layup." Ahead 38-34, the Elks finally broke it open with eight straight points capped off by a Triplett three-pointer to take a 46-34 edge with 4:06 to go in the third quarter. Elkton led by as much as 13 in the final two minutes of the fourth quarter before Bel Air made one final, but futile, run. Givens is not sure how good his team can become. "We play up. We play down," he said. "There's got to be some consistency. We have the tools to be a decent team, a competitive team throughout the year." Even the frequently hard-to-please Givens is impressed with his squad's unselfishness. "That's our biggest strength," he said. Comments are closed.
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