McDonogh Tops Mercersburg Academy

STEVENSON, MD -- McDonogh High School (2-0) topped Mercersburg Academy (PA) 63-38 in the opening matchup of this weekend's Towson Catholic Tip-off at Villa Julie College.

McDonogh of Owings Mills, MD, ranked No. 15 in the Baltimore Sun's preseason poll, down two at the half, broke the game open in the third quarter as they outscored Mercersburg 23-7 to take a 40-26 lead into the final stanza. Their size made controlling the boards an expected outcome.

Mercersburg, able to stay close with their press and decent outside shooting in the first half, saw their lead disappear as McDonogh started making the open shots that weren't falling in the first half. Times out, called to change the momentum, never reached that goal. The Pennsylvania school was not able to get any closer as McDonogh extended their lead to 24 before clearing the bench at the 2:15 mark. The Eagles reserves added to the lead against Mercersburg's bench to make the final edge 25 points.

McDonogh, entering their second year in the top Maryland Interscholastic Athletic Association A Conference, was led by 6-8, 215 pound combo forward Jazwyn Cowan's 19 points, including 10 in the third quarter. The Eagles other inside player, junior Mike Popoko, added 12 points.

McDonogh's head coach, Matt MacMullen said after the game, "We normally don't do very well against teams we haven't played or scouted before. Tonight we stuck with our game plan and the shots started falling after the half."

Located northwest of Hagerstown, MD, Mercersburg plays in the the Maryland-based Mid-Atlantic Conference. They were led by Colorado-signee, 5-11, 170 pound point guard Antoine McGee with 12 points. Carlos Campos, a sophomore three-point shooter, added 10 points.

SCORING

Mercersburg McDonogh

McGee 12 Hutt 9

K Christiansen 7 Brick 9

Campos 10 Benson 2

Lay 1 Cowan 19

Rahauser 3 Popoko 12

Marquiss 3 Freund 3

Blackburn 2 Drummond 1

White 5

Friedman 2

Totals 38 63