OXON HILL – For a team missing a pair of starters, the Oxon Hill Clippers certainly flashed all three phases of the good, the bad and the ugly in their Friday night clash with the Laurel Spartans.
In the first half of their Prince George’s County 4A matchup, the Clippers were mostly good. Throughout periods of the second, Oxon Hill was everything from bad to ugly to incredibly sloppy. But even in a multi-faced showing, the Clippers were stable enough to post a season-high in points in an 82-71 win.
With starting shooting guard Ronnie Ingram missing the game due to injury and power forward Koleco Elizaire leaving the team, Oxon Hill rode the shoulders of underclassmen Gary Stewart (23 points), Sam “Magic” Harris (16 points) and Monte Artis, who capped his birthday with 13 points and some physical play off the bench. Alex Long had 11 points while Myron Fogle added 10.
“We knew we were going to be short so we shuffled some players around,” Oxon Hill coach Sam Harris, Magic’s father, said.
The Clippers stormed to a 19-2 start but sleepwalked through the next two quarters before surging again after the Spartans shaved the lead down to just six late in the third quarter.
Laurel had the momentum going in the final half before point guard Brandon Roberson (19 points) fouled out before the final period even began. Roberson’s speed helped rev up the pace for the Spartans, but two reach-in fouls and a charging call in a 1:30 span put him on the shelf for the rest of the game and proved too much for the 1-7 Spartans to overcome.
“We dug ourselves in a hole,” said Laurel coach Torrence Oxendine. “We had a couple of defensive lapses and some key guys foul out. We just didn’t execute so it was on us.”
The Spartans were led by Adrian Rosseau, who finished with a game-high 28 points and knocked down seven 3-pointers.
Oxon Hill improved to 4-2 inside the 4A and 4-4 overall with Friday’s victory.
While Friday’s victory was sweet, there was perhaps no other player happier than Clippers forward Artis, who had every incentive to go out and perform well on his birthday.
“It was a little motivation,” he said, “but I know I just have to go out and play the game how we play, keep everything how it is and we’ll win.”
LAUREL
Adrian Rosseau 28, Brandon Roberson 19, Kenya Brown 6, Xavier McFadden 5, Cailen Walker 5, Frank Williams 4, Gregory Barber 2, Mamadou Ndiaye 2.
OXON HILL
Gary Stewart 23, Magic Harris 16, Monte Artis 13, Alex Long 11, Myron Fogle 10, Jonathon Caughman 5, Spencer Johnson 2, Johnathan Stewart 2.
Laurel 4 24 23 20 – 71
Oxon Hill 20 24 13 25 – 82
3-pointers: Laurel 8 (Rosseau 7, Roberson 1), OH 4 (Fogle 2, G. Stewart 2). Total Fouls—L 34, OH 25. Fouled Out – L (Roberson). Technical fouls – None.
CLICK HERE FOR A VIDEO INTERVIEW WITH OXON HILL'S MONTE ARTIS.
Top: Oxon Hill's Sam "Magic" Harris goes up for a lay-in. Right: Magic Harris prepares to shoot a free throw. - Photos by Marcus Helton, DMV Elite.
Contact DMV Elite Editor-in-Chief Marcus Helton at mhelton@dmvelite.com or on Twitter. Also, check out DMV Elite on Facebook!
