Photo by Jacqui South. Eleanor Roosevelt's Chaun Miller guards Nick Griffin, who put up 11 points for Magruder.

Published on: Friday, January 06, 2012

By Brandy L. Simms

Montgomery County basketball made a statement last week as both Springbrook and Magruder captured wins in the opening games of the Roberts Oxygen Holiday Tournament at Springbrook High School in Silver Spring.

The two day tournament featured Springbrook and Magruder against Prince George’s County powers Eleanor Roosevelt and Gwynn Park.

Magruder senior forward Garland Owens scored a game-high 16 points to go along with eight rebounds, four assists and two blocked shots to lead the Colonels past Eleanor Roosevelt in the opener, 64-45.

“Garland, he’s about 6-4 and a half but he plays like he’s 6-8, 6-9,” said Magruder head coach Dan Harwood.

The dynamic junior backcourt duo of Nick Griffin (11 points) and J.J. Epps (15 points) combined for 26 points and classmate Justin Witmer finished with ten points for Magruder.

Several Division I college recruiters were in attendance including George Washington head coach Mike Lonergan and Howard University head coach Kevin Nickelberry.

In the nightcap, Springbrook held on for a 61-59 victory over Gwynn Park after racing out to a 15-point halftime lead.

“We’ve been off for a week. That’s no excuse, but I think we were a little lackadaisical in the start,” said Gwynn Park head coach Mike Glick. “But overall, I’m proud of the way we responded. Springbrook’s an excellent team.”

Springbrook was led by senior forward Demetric Austin who scored a game-high 25 points; Charles Taylor finished with 14 points and Tomazye Anderson added 11 points for the Blue Devils.

Meanwhile, Gwynn Park was led by the trio of Jalen Harris (16 points), Marcel Boyd (12 points) and Xavier Richards (11 points) who combined for 39 of the Yellow Jackets’ 59 points.