DIGITAL HARBOR BOUNCE BACK IN OT

George Jackson scored six of his 20 points in overtime as No. 4 Digital Harbor defeated defending Class 1A state champ New Town, 55-53, in the opening game of the 12th annual Basketball Academy at Morgan State University Friday afternoon.

Sophomore guard Justin Jackson added 15 points for the Rams, who bounced back from a loss to Parkville Thursday at Hill Field House. Senior forward Kendrick Brown led New Town with 13 points and junior guard Chris Hutchinson had 12.

Trailing 49-48 in overtime, Gary Brannon gave Digital Harbor the lead for good with a three-pointer with 2:25 remaining, and George Jackson followed with five free throws. After a three-pointer by Willie Kee got New Town to within 54-51 with 10 seconds remaining, George Jackson added one more free throw for a four-point advantage.

“Everyody was telling us to play harder tomorrow [Friday] because it was a tough loss,” said Justin Jackson. “We didn’t execute our plays, but in the second half against New Town, we executed and played real hard and came out with the win.”

New Town led by as many as 17 points in the second half, but the Rams rallied to take the lead. The Titans forced overtime as Stuart Clarke (nine points) scored on a layup after Brown blocked a layup attempt by Kevin Davis.

The momentum carried into overtime as Hutchinson opened the scoring with a layup, but New Town was unable to beat a team ranked in the Digital Top 10. The Owings Mills school led 25-12 at halftime before Digital Harbor shrink the gap to 35-34 as the Jackson brothers combined for 18 points in third quarter.

“I told the guys they [the Jacksons] were going to exerted themselves in the third quarter which they did,” said New Town coach Michael Smith, whose team will match up with No. 2 Lake Clifton Saturday at Hill Field House. “We didn’t play hard enough, we didn’t play aggressively in the second half.”

Digital Harbor 55, New Town 53, OT
New Town: Edwards 5, Black 2, Kee 6, Clarke 11, Ademiluya 2, Hutchinson 12, Brown 13, McKennie 2. Totals 19 8-10 53.
Digital Harbor: Brannon 10, G. Jackson 20, J. Jackson 15, Johnson 5, Edwards 1, Davis 4. Totals 18 14-20 55. Halftime: New Town 25, Digital Harbor 12.

-Derek Toney