Cougars come out flat, can’t catch up to Harford as they battle for postseason berth

Story by Alexander Dacy courtesy of Frederick News Post

Staff photo by Katina Zentz

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Frederick Community College's Justin Morrisey knew immediately from the game's opening possession that his men's basketball team was playing careless and wasn't ready to handle Harford Community College.

"We came out sluggish," the sophomore shooting guard said. "I could tell straight from the jump that we weren't locked in."

Though the Cougars kept things competitive for about 15 minutes, they seemed to be going through the motions rather than learning from their opponent and going for the lead. And by the time the Fighting Owls' Ricardo Ross drained a jump shot to make their lead double digits, it felt all but over. 

FCC didn't sustain a response, treading water before falling away in a 91-72 home loss Wednesday that left Morrisey, his teammates and coach Darryl Whiten disappointed.

"We have to get off to a good and a smart start, and we didn't tonight," Whiten said. "It looked like we may have been a step slow to get to everything. Our intensity wasn't where it needed to be."

That's an issue the Cougars need to correct with three conference games remaining and a tight battle for a berth in the National Junior College Athletic Association Region 20 tournament.

The team has lost three of four since the start of February, with the one win coming Saturday over Montgomery College. That victory may have clouded FCC (11-11) entering Wednesday.

"I think it was a little bit of a high from the game Saturday," Morrisey said. "We overlooked [this game] too much, and we shouldn't do that."

HCC (15-11) kept finding itself open on offense, shooting 59.4% from the floor. Meanwhile, its defense generated 10 steals, with more than half of those quickly leading to points on the other end.

The Cougars, meanwhile, never settled into a rhythm nor rattled off the kind of run they needed to get back in the contest.

"I think they got off too many easy shots to start," Morrisey said. "If we get good contest, we get out running to start the game, and if we get out running, we get in our groove rather than trying to set up a half-court offense."

Morrisey, a Frederick Christian Academy graduate, scored a game-high 19 points while grabbing six rebounds and dishing five assists. Terrell Neal had 16 points and six boards for FCC, and Malik Witherspoon (Tuscarora) had 10 points and eight rebounds.

Nate Lacey scored 16 points to lead the Owls.