WESTMINSTER, Md. - Hood used 43 first-half points and 23 points from MVP Jevon Yarbrough to defeat the McDaniel College men's basketball team in the finale of the Battle of DC/Maryland Classic on Sunday from the Gill Center, 75-59.
The Green Terror (2-1) placed two players on the All-Classic Team in junior
Ryan Shaffer and senior
David Kearney.
Hood (4-0) has now won the last four match-ups in the series with McDaniel dating back to 2013, including last season's edition of the classic hosted by the Blazers.
The visitors opened the first half with an 18-10 lead, but McDaniel responded with a quick 7-0 run to cut the deficit to one. A three-pointer from sophomore
Ashen Stuart tied the contest at 20-20 with just under 10 minutes left in the half, but the Blazers broke the tie with six-straight points.
Trailing by nine with under a minute to go, fast break layups from junior
Bruce Black and senior
David Kearney cut the Blazer lead to 43-38 at intermission.
The Green Terror started strong in the second, as a Kearney jumper with 15:46 left gave McDaniel a 46-45 advantage. The lead changed hands over the next several possessions until a 9-0 Hood run put the Blazers back in front. Three-pointers from junior
Ryan Shaffer and Kearney kept the Green Terror within seven, but Hood finished the game on a 14-5 run over the final seven minutes to seal the win.
Kearney led the scoring effort with 13 points on 5-of-15 shooting, including a career-high six steals. Stuart finished with 11 points on a career-best 13 three-point attempts while Black notched 10 points, four rebounds and three assists.
The Green Terror bench outscored Hood's reserves 12-11, led by seven points from senior
Matt Kearney, but the Blazers held the edge in second chance points 13-5 and scored 28 points in transition. Hood controlled the glass 38-27 and connected on over half of its field goal attempts, highlighted by making 16-of-27 shots in the first half.
McDaniel returns to the Gill Center on Tuesday to host Penn State Berks. Tip-off is slated for 7:30 p.m.
