Men’s Basketball: CCBC Essex Defeats Anne Arundel in OT

For the second time in three days No. 5 CCBC Essex has defeated No. 12 Anne Arundel Community College, this time at home 74-71 in overtime of the opening round of the MD JUCO tournament. 

Sophomore guard Jordan Benson led all scorers with 23 points, hitting five of his 17 three-point attempts. Benson also had seven assists, six rebounds and three steals.

 In the waning seconds of overtime, the two teams remained tied at 71. Benson and sophomore guard Malcom White combined to hit three free throws to seal the victory. 

Sophomore guard David Ford ended the game with a double-double—his 10th of the season—on 19 points and 11 rebounds. He also added two blocked shots. 

Sophomore guard and two-year co-captain Greg Hunt also finished with a double-double on 15 points and 10 assists. 

This game was much closer than the Feb. 12 matchup on Anne Arundel’s home court. That day the Knights rolled 70-55, but the Knights expected a different game in the rematch. 

“We knew what [Anne Arundel] was going to throw at us,” said White, whose only two points in the game lifted the Knights to victory. “But we also knew that they would come out strong because we just beat them two days ago.” 

In a game full of runs, the contest's first 10 minutes did not disappoint. 

Essex (17-9, 12-5 MD JUCO) won the opening tipoff and started out on a 5-2 run. Not to be outdone, the Pioneers stormed back and outscored the Knights 11-3 to take a 13-8 lead midway through the first half. 

That’s when the Knights began to hit the bulk of their three-point attempts. 

As a team, Essex finished the first half 6-of-15 from three point range. Benson accounted for all but two, going 4-of-11 prior to halftime. 

The Knights finished the first half by outscoring the Pioneers 30-19, including a 16-8 run in the last 6:00 of the period to take a 38-32 intermission lead. 

Although he started off poorly, Benson composed himself and had 14 of his game-high 23 points by halftime. 

“I came out cold like I did [last week] against Chesapeake,” Benson said, referencing a 0-for-7 start from three-point range against the Skipjacks on Feb. 8. “But I knew I had to find my rhythm.” 

In the second half, Essex increased its lead to as many as 11 points, but Anne Arundel fought back. 

The Pioneers answered the Knights 17-13 run to start the second half by outscoring them 22-14 to end regulation. This included an 8-2 run in the final 4:00. 

“We got into a little foul trouble [at the end of regulation],” Knights head coach Michael Francis said. “We had to sit Malcom [White] and Greg [Hunt] and we could not contain Anne Arundel off the dribble.” 

Anne Arundel sophomore guard Abner Mann scored on a layup with 2.6 seconds remaining to tie the game at 69 and send it to overtime. 

The teams combined to score only seven points in the extra frame, but Essex finished on top to advance to the quarterfinals of the MD JUCO tournament.  

Essex will face No. 4 Cecil Community College in the next round of the tournament, at 1 p.m. on Friday at Frederick Community College.