Cardinals Win Game of the Year on Sophomore Night

On February 24, the Cardinals men's basketball team took on Montgomery College, coming out victorious 67-66. 

On the evening of the sophomore night for the men's basketball team, the Cardinals and Raptors played the surefire game of the season. With back-and-forth scoring throughout the game, the game would come down to Maurice Smith (Newton High School) needing to sink at least one free throw to see the Cardinals come out on top. Maurice Smith would be successful, and the Cardinals would come out on top 67-66. 

In the first half, Keith Bullock (Cardozo High School) would start the Cardinals scoring, with five points in the opening four minutes. The Cardinals would find themselves down 19-16 with 9:13 left to play in the half. However, a Christopher Johnson (St. George's High School) dunk and a Maurice Smith jumper would see the Cardinals take a 20-19 lead with 7:25 left to play. The Cardinals would go on a tear with just under five minutes to go in the half. Six points in 46 seconds would see the Cardinals take a 28-21 lead with 4:11 to go. Back-to-back layups from Chizitere Opara (Largo High School) would see that lead grow 11 points. The Cardinals would take a 35-27 lead into the halftime break. 

In the second half, the Raptors would come out strong, closing their halftime deficit of eight to three points with just under four minutes played. However, Jalen Yates (Baltimore City High School) would respond with a three-pointer to put the lead back up to six. The Cardinals would lose their lead with 10 minutes left to play, as it seemed like the game was slipping away from them. However, the Cardinals were not going to go down without a fight. Keith Bullock would hit a three with 8:35 left to make it a 49-47 game. Maurice Smith would sink a layup with 7:21 to tie it up at 49-49. Both teams would continue to trade blows for the final minutes of the game. In the final minute, the Cardinals would find themselves down one with 49 seconds left. Chizitere Opara would step up to the free throw line down one point. Opara would sink one of his free throws to tie the game 66-66. In the final seconds, Maurice Smith would be fouled, giving the Cardinals the opportunity to win the game in the final seconds. Smith would miss his first free throw. With all the eyes in the gym on him, Smith would sink the second shot, winning the final regular season game for the Cardinals 67-66. 

The leading scorer was Keith Bullock, who finished with 22 points and five rebounds, going 2-2 from the three-point line. Maurice Smith finished with 14 points and five rebounds.  

The Cardinals finish their regular season at 13-16.