Linganore and West Frederick broke close games open in the second half to win their respective varsity and jayvee championships in the 2000 Conference Tournament finals.
The Junior Lancers, in winning their first varsity tournament title since 1982, outscored the top-seeded Mustangs 35-14 in the second half to claim a 52-30 victory. The win snapped a 23-game Monocacy win streak and marked the third straight year that the #1 varsity seed failed to win the year-end tourney.
Zach Hayes netted 17 points to lead the winners, including three 3-pointers. Leif Jackson added 14 points while Matthew Gust had six. Danny Pierson paced Monocacy with nine points while Carl Wolf tallied six points and Colin Doll five.
The Linganore squad, regular season CMC and tournament champs a year ago, had a 43-7 record in League play over the past two seasons.
West Frederick, in posting the League's best overall record at 24-1, broke open a close game in the third quarter to post a 43-23 decision in the jayvee finale.
The Cadets led by just three points, 15-12, at the half but used a 12-2 blitz in the third period to take control and six-of-eight foul shooting down the stretch to ice the win.
Luther Weedon paced the Cadets with 16 points while Quenton Beard and Paul Smith chipped in with eight points each. Smith and Arun Ali also keyed the a strong team defensive effort.
Monocacy scoring leader was John Phillips with eight points.
Monocacy's varsity came from six points down at the end of three quarters to outscore West Frederick 13-2 in the final stanza to take a 35-30 win and move into the tournament finals. It was the 23rd straight win against League opponents for the Mustangs. Danny Pierson had 15 points for Monocacy while Eric Lenz had 12 and Forest Offord added 10 for West Frederick.
Matt Kelly's second bucket of overtime came at the buzzer and lifted Linganore to a 42-40 come-from-behind victory over Middletown in the other semifinal. The Knights, who led 19-14 at halftime, got 20 points from John Keimig and 16 from Paul Stanzione. The Lancers, in setting up a rematch of last year's jayvee tournament championship game with Monocacy, were led by Leif Jackson with 18 points.
Top-seeded West Frederick was pushed for three quarters by Middletown before outscoring the Knights 20-4 in the final frame for a 45-32 victory in the jayvee semis. Luther Weedon had 18 points and Andre Washington added 10 for the winners. Joseph Keimig netted 14 points and Wesley Bidle added 13 for Middletown.
Monocacy's jayvees also had their hands full with Poolesville before winning the other semi, 32-27. Mike Cholet had 14 points and Anthony Blackwood added 11 for Monocacy. Adam Powell had 10 points to lead Poolesville.
Monocacy, Linganore, West Frederick, and Middletown gained quarterfinal wins and advanced to the varsity's 2000 "Final Four".
Top-seeded Monocacy raced to a 30-8 lead at the half and coasted to a 55-35 win over Walkersville. Monocacy had 13 players in the scoring column led by Danny Pierson's 14 points. He also added 10 boards and six blocked shots. Gladimir Elysee and Carl Wolf added seven points each. Wes Anderson capped a great season with a team-high 14 points for Walkersville.
Linganore got 13 points from Zach Hayes in cruising to a 54-34 triumph over Brunswick. The Railroaders were led by Derek Dykes with seven points.
West Frederick pulled away in the fourth quarter to post a 47-34 win over two-time defending tournament champion Windsor Knolls. Eric Lenz had 12 points and 15 rebounds to pace the winners while Colby Jackson contributed 11 points and Ray Griffin 10. Brian Mohns topped Windsor Knolls with 11 points.
Six-seed Middletown pulled off the upset of the day, stunning host #3 Ballenger Creek 41-36 in double overtime. John Keimig netted 20 points and hauled in 12 rebounds for the Knights. Chad Warren and Jawaan Green had 16 and 10 points, respectively, for the Bulldogs.
Also Saturday, the two remaining jayvee quarterfinal games were played with Poolesville and Middletown joining the "Final Four".
Down 15-6 at the half, Poolesville held Linganore to just three points the entire second half in claiming a 31-18 win. Poolesville was led by Cory Christman and Adam Powell with 10 points. Stephen Smith chipped in with seven. Linganore was led by Mark Trammel with 10 points.
Middletown got some measure of revenge over a Walkersville team that overtook them for regular season MVAL honors, blitzing the Lions 45-35 in the quarterfinals. The Knights outscored Walkersville 16-2 in the second quarter to take a 27-7 lead at the half and coasted from there. Joseph Keimig had 16 points and Jonathon Hall added 11 for the winners. Brendon Geppert had 17 points, Tim Abercrombie 12 and Chris Hannigan 10 points for the Lions.
Top-seeded West Frederick barely survived a scare from #9 St. John's, coming from behind in the fourth quarter to post a 51-47 win in the tournament quarterfinals. The Vikings led 30-29 after three periods, but the Cadets netted 10-of-15 free throws in the final quarter to make up the deficit. Corey Dorsey led a trio of West Frederick players in double figures with 14 points while Luther Weedon added 12 points and Quenton Beard added 11. Steve Keser topped St. John's with 11 points and Jair Blair added 10.
Monocacy earned a spot in the semis with a 47-31 triumph over Windsor Knolls. For Monocacy, Anthony Blackwood had 20 points, six rebounds, five steals. Micheal Cholet added eight points and 11 rebounds.
Four varsity play-in games had Middletown, Brunswick, Walkersville, and Windsor Knolls advance to this Saturday's quarterfinal round of the tournament.
Middletown raced to a 20-point halftime lead and coasted to a 53-43 win over Boonsboro. John Keimig had 14 points and Tyler Lushbaugh added 11 for the winners while Tim Kellinger topped the Warriors with 14 points.
Brunswick scored the game's last 11 points to stun St. John's 41-36. The Railroaders, the lowest seed remaining in the tournament at #10, trailed 36-30 with 1:42 left in the game. Craig Wachter and Derek Dykes led the win with 10 points apiece while Jered Lyons had 20 points to lead the Vikings.
Walkersville built a 10-point at the half, but had to hold off a late Poolesville rally for a 41-36 win. The Indians, led by Brendan Holden with 14 points and Vincent Riggs with 10, cut the lead to three with less than two minutes remaining, but could get no closer. Walkersville was led by Wes Anderson with 15 points and Chris Bierman with 10.
Windsor Knolls jumped out to an early 15-3 lead and defeated Catoctin 51-24. D.J. McGee led eight Hawks scorers with 17 points and John Myers added 14. High scorer for Poolesville was Dennis Hill with eight points.
Four jayvee play-in games saw Middletown, Linganore, Windsor Knolls, and Ballenger Creek advance to this Friday and Saturday's quarterfinal round of the tournament.
Middletown defeated Boonsboro 52-24 behind 14 points from Wesley Bidle and 12 from Joseph Keimig. Jimmy Griffin led the Warriors with eight points.
Jon Sweadner had 13 points and Mark Trammell added 11 as Linganore got by Brunswick 55-28. R.J. Backover had nine points in a losing cause.
Windsor Knolls held Catoctin to seven points in the second half on it's way to a 36-24 victory over Catoctin. James Pierce led the Hawks with 11 points. Catoctin got a team-high 10 from Luke Bamgardner.
St. John's nipped Ballenger Creek 35-32. The Vikings were lead by the scoring of Ben Hose with 12 points and the defense of Martin Lewis who had six blocked shots and 12 rebounds. Corey Rhodes had a game-high 16 points for Ballenger.