Five Takeaways: Dulaney vs Milford Mill
Dulaney and Milford Mill have historically been two of the top teams in Baltimore County. Both have faced some challenging competition this season, so it was unusual to see them both sport 4-3 records heading into last night’s match-up. In…
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Continue ReadingDulaney and Milford Mill have historically been two of the top teams in Baltimore County. Both have faced some challenging competition this season, so it was unusual to see them both sport 4-3 records heading into last night’s match-up. In a high-paced, chaotic battle, Dulaney created separation at the end to go on to win by a final score of 73-59.
Let’s take a look at five takeaways from the contest:
Cam Byers steps up when needed
It was clear from the opening tip that Milford Mill’s defensive game plan was to make 2021 guard Ryan Conway‘s life as difficult as possible. Aggressively denying him when he didn’t have the ball and throwing two defenders on him when he did receive the ball were the tactics in the early portion. With that being the case, the Lions were struggling to score until Byers made his presence known. The 6-foot-5 forward splashed three-straight three-pointers in the second quarter to help give Dulaney some breathing room. Those makes would eventually give some of the pressure off of Conway and space the floor for the entire Dulaney offense. Byers was key both scoring from inside and out throughout the course of the game as he scored a game-high 22 points.
Jermaine Goodwyn carries the load for Milford
Goodwyn has always been one of the key players on the Millers. Now with an almost fully revamped team of transfers, that comes to the forefront when they need him most like last night. The 6-foot-2 guard finished with a team-high 20 points and did so from all three levels. He buried two triples, has multiple successful drive and finishes around the rim and visited the free-throw line often.
Ryan Conway still makes impact
Although Milford’s entire defense was predicated on limited Conway, the 6-foot-1 guard still managed to score 17 points. A player with Conway’s natural scoring ability on top of all of the sets that Dulaney has to get him open looks makes keeping him from putting the ball in the basket extremely difficult. Conway didn’t shoot well from deep as he normally does, but he scored six of his 17 points in the fourth quarter at crucial times to help seal the deal for his team.
Milford Mill keeps up with the pace
Whenever you play Dulaney, you can expect them to make the game a track meet. Offensively, they like to get downhill for three’s or lay ups. Following their makes, they throw a full-court trap defense that tends to speed up the opposing team into mistakes. In the first half, Milford was actually winning the high-paced battle as they continuously collected rebounds and quickly found sprinting guards for uncontested transition lay ups. In the second half, the Millers tried to keep the same mentality, but often time found themselves turning the ball over.
Role players who stood out
Both teams received some significant help from their role players. For Dulaney, 2021 Crevon Adams contributed 13 points. After a slow first half for Adams, he responded nicely in the second half, scoring eight of his 13 points in the final two quarters. 2021 big man Detwan Montague helped Milford to an early lead with his scoring inside. The 6-foot-8 forward scored 12 points in the game, six of which came in the first quarter. 2022 guard Andrew Rheubottom was key in Milford staying in the game in the first half. The 6-foot-2 guard finished with 10 points in the game, but sustained a head injury early in the third quarter that kept him out the rest of the game. Adams of Dulaney had the ball around the rim and was able to pump fake the rotating Rheubottom into jumping for a block. Rheubottom’s legs were taken out from under him and his head was the first thing to hit the floor. After a quarter in the training room Rheubottom walked out without any assistance, which was a great sight to see.