Five Key Questions: New Town vs Randallstown
In a very well-known rivalry match up, New Town hosted Randallstown last night in a packed and loud gymnasium. The Rams did a nice job keeping it close in the first half, but the Titans ran away with the game…
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Continue ReadingIn a very well-known rivalry match up, New Town hosted Randallstown last night in a packed and loud gymnasium. The Rams did a nice job keeping it close in the first half, but the Titans ran away with the game in the second half as they doubled their score 46-23 in the final two quarters. New Town improves to 3-0 while Randallstown falls to 0-1.
Here are five key questions we gathered from the contest:
How did New Town separate themselves?
New Town had an obvious size advantage over Randallstown at each position. They did a good job in the first half of attacking the offensive glass thanks to sophomore forward Julian Reese. Their rebounding ways continued in the second half, except there weren’t as many opportunities for offensive rebounds because they were converting on their shots. Randallstown pressed, but once the Titans got in the half court, they executed well enough to get open looks from inside or out. Once they found the weakness in Randallstown’s zone, they took advantage.
What did Randallstown do successfully in the first half?
Heading into the locker room at halftime, the Rams only trailed by three. They were doing a good job pressuring and turning over New Town and making them pay with lay ups. New Town was sitting in zone defense and Randallstown was able to get a few early three’s to fall and gain early confidence. The speed was chaotic, which was how Randallstown wanted it, but in the end New Town was able to gain control and run away.
Who led in scoring for New Town?
New Town had a balanced scoring attack through and through. Junior wing Andrew Mills led the way with 16 points, 10 of which came in the first quarter alone and helped the Titans sustain an early punch from Randallstown. Mills did a great job filling lanes in transition and finishing around the basket. Junior guard Kyree Johnson was second in scoring with 13 points that came off of a couple mid-range pull up jumpers off the dribble and strong drives to the basket. Julian Reese, as mentioned above, made his living feasting off of the offensive glass. He finished with 12 points, but could’ve been closer to 20 if he had softer touch on his put backs.
Who were the college prospects in this game?
Junior guard from New Town, Martaz Robinson, had multiple special moments making big time reads with the ball and finding open teammates. Robinson usually makes himself felt more in the scoring column, but finished with just seven points. UMBC was in attendance to watch the 6-foot-1 floor general. Reese will be a name to watch from here on out. At 6-foot-8 and much development ahead, he’ll be a Division I prospect by this time next year. He already holds one offer from Stony Brook, but he will be solidified as a big man that many programs are tracking. Mills is an interesting player. At 6-foot-5, he has nice size for a wing. He still has to develop his overall offensive game, but he’ll be a good fit for a Division II program. A pair of seniors in Jordan Guerrero and Maurice Smith can both score and impact the game in a multitude of ways. Guerrero has interest from multiple Division III programs and Smith is waiting for his recruitment to pick up since defeating cancer for the second time a year ago.
Where does New Town size up in the county?
In my opinion, New Town and Dulaney are by far the front runners in the county landscape. While Dulaney boasts a very strong starting lineup, New Town has quality guys that come off the bench and can produce. Seeing these two teams match up would be tremendous. We’ll have to wait until January 23 when New Town travels to take on the Lions in a game where bragging rights and placement in the standings will all likely be on the line.