CHESAPEAKE CITY — Longtime head coach Sobaye Scott said he is optimistic that the Trojans will come away from Bohemia Manor tomorrow night with a win in the semifinals of the Class 1A East Region I boys basketball tournament.
Bo Manor (9-10) is the No. 2 seed and Kent County (7-13) is the No. 3 seed.
They did not play one another during the regular season and had no common opponents.
So what should we expect?
“To handle business,” Scott said in a telephone interview Saturday, March 1.
The teams met in a preseason scrimmage, which Scott acknowledged was three months ago and probably irrelevant at this point.
“They could have gotten better. We could have gotten worse,” he said matter-of-factly.
The bottom line, Scott insisted, is that the Trojans should prevail if they play to their potential.
They are coming off an 83-77 overtime victory at North Dorchester on Feb. 21 — their only win in the month of February, after five consecutive losses.
It’s a game that shouldn’t have gone into extra time, in Scott’s opinion.
Kent County led by as many as eight points, and trailed by as many as eight.
In the waning seconds of regulation, the host Eagles (2-18) had a chance to win but missed a layup.
KCHS took over in the 4-minute extra period, outscoring the home team, 17-10, with Jayden Miller leading the way with five points and Rah ‘Zir Wilson and Dwan Harris each contributing four points.
Ultimately, Scott said, “it came down to playing together and executing plays.”
For the game, 6-foot-3 combo guard Harris led all players with 30 points. Jayden Miller and Jonah Somerville dropped in 20 apiece. Gavin Miller (nine points) and Wilson made up the balance.
Kent County dressed only eight for the regular-season finale, and made the trip without career 1,000-point scorer JySir Valentine.
Tomorrow night at Bo Manor, the Trojans are expected to be at full strength plus one with the addition of junior varsity call-up Dylan Hurtt. Tip-off is at 7 p.m.
In the other region semifinal on Tuesday, No. 1 seed Colonel Richardson (15-5) will host No. 5 seed Perryville (6-14).
Last Friday, Perryville eliminated No. 4 seed St. Michaels (6-13) in the only opening round game, 67-59.
Tuesday’s winners will meet for the championship on Thursday at the higher seed.