Allegany College downs Hagerstown, 89-66, for Region 20 title

Mar. 6—BEL AIR — With a pair of dominating performances over the weekend, Allegany College captured its first Region 20 title since 2019.

In the championship game at Harford Community College, the Trojans' defense controlled the first half and their offense got them over the finish line in an 89-66 defeat of Hagerstown on Saturday.

"It was a great team effort," Allegany College head coach Tommie Reams said. "After the game, our coaching staff was talking about how in the first half, we were getting open looks and weren't hitting shots, but we were getting after it defensively.

"Our defensive intensity, execution of our game plan was really coming through. ... Then in the second half when we started hitting shots, we went from being up 13 to being up 25 to 30 the rest of the game."

The win is the seventh straight for the Trojans (23-9) and avenges an early-season loss to Hagerstown (13-16), which defeated ACM, 71-65, on Nov. 8 in Allegany's third game of the season.

Allegany now turns to the District 3 tournament at Monroe College in New Rochelle, New York. The Trojans, in search of their first trip to the national tournament since '19, begin their district climb against Harcum College in the tournament semifinals on Friday.

Hagerstown and Monroe square off on the other side of the bracket. The winner plays for the championship on Saturday.

While the field contains a pair of nationally recognized squads — Monroe (25-4) is ranked No. 19 in Division 1 and Harcum (20-7) is receiving votes — Allegany College appears to be peaking at the right time.

"I'm seeing a sense of togetherness and one-ness that we haven't had every day this year," Reams said. "Even though we won 20-plus games during the season, you could tell we were up and down. Not every kid was on the same page. Which you expect from 18-, 19-, 20-year-old kids.

"In the two weeks leading up to the end of the season, you could sense as a coaching staff that our kids were 100% bought in. ... We've been preaching to these guys, you're playing for your brothers. You guys have to love each other. We're really starting to see that."

The championship game was decided by Allegany's tenacious defense, as Hagerstown turned the ball over 31 times to the Trojans' 14.

Allegany racked up 21 steals, led by Cam'Ron Brown with seven. Dalyn Brandon, Leon Elung and Car'Ron Brown tallied three steals apiece.

"Cam has always been one of our best defenders this year," said Reams. "He's kind of like a defensive back off the ball. He's not afraid to attack passing lanes and read the flight of the ball."

The Trojans boasted 40 points off turnovers — Hagerstown had 10.

Reams credited his staff's game plan and the players' execution for turning over a Hagerstown team that averages just 12 giveaways a night so frequently.

"We knew coming in that we wanted to pressure them," he said. "After watching a lot of film, we saw what we thought were trap areas and rotations we thought we could take advantage of. Sprung some traps they weren't prepared for."

Tekao Carpenter topped the Trojans' scoring with 20 points, hitting 7 of 17 shots from the field and 4 of 5 from the free-throw line. Allegany made the most of the charity stripe, converting 17 of 20 tries.

Brandon posted a double-double with 15 points and 10 rebounds; Elung added 16 points and seven boards; Tyson Oghene finished with 13 points, and Cam'Ron Brown tallied 10 points and six assists.

Carpenter was named Region 20 tournament Most Valuable Player after scoring 43 points over two games. Brandon and Cam'Ron Brown were named all-tournament team.

Oghene was a noticeable snub, as the freshman graduate of St. Maria Goretti poured in 40 points during the tournament.

Allegany assisted on 20 of its 32 made shots, shooting 48.5% from the field for the game.

The Trojans led 31-18 at the half and exploded for 58 points after halftime, during which time they made 19 of 36 attempts from the field (52.8%) and 16 of 18 free throws (88.9%).

Kristoff Hayden topped Hagerstown with 10 points and Trent Walker chipped in 14 off the bench. No other players scored in double figures for the tournament runner-ups.

The Trojans routed Baltimore City Community College on Friday, 102-64, to reach the championship game. Five players scored in double figures with two scoring 23 or more points. Oghene led with a game-high 27, Carpenter scored 23, Brandon had 13 and Cam'Ron Brown scoring 12 and Car'Ron Brown hitting for 11.

Allegany knows first-hand how good Harcum is, dropping a pair of regular-season meetings to the squad from Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania, but both contests were winnable.

The Trojans fell 64-58 and 89-82. In the first game, ACM led by nine points with five minutes left but couldn't hang on. In the second, Harcum hit a crucial 3-pointer late to hold on.

"We've shown that we're right on the level with them," Reams said. "Cleaning up mistakes, and limiting the number of turnovers and bad fouls bailing them out (will be key).

"We're gonna have to hit shots. If we don't hit the 3-ball, we're gonna have trouble against them."

Alex Rychwalski is a sports reporter at the Cumberland Times-News. Follow him on Twitter @arychwal.