Prince George's Men's Basketball Turns Attention To Region Tournament After Being Clipped By Cecil In Final Maryland JUCO Tournament

HAGERSTOWN, Md. – Prince George's Community College will now have a week to prepare for the NJCAA Region XX Division III Championships hosted by Prince George's after falling 81-78 to Cecil College in the Maryland JUCO Men's Basketball Tournament Quarterfinals on Friday.

Alex Morales (Paterson, N.J./Manchester Regional) paced the Owls (18-5) with 27 points and 13 rebounds. It was his seventh 20-point performance this season including three 27-point outputs for his third highest scoring game of the season. Morales has posted a double-double 12 times in his last 13 games and has 17 double-doubles this season. The sophomore leads the team with 19.6 points and 11.6 rebounds per game. 

Tunde Scrivner (Washington, D.C./H.D. Woodson) chipped in 11 points and five rebounds. The freshman has scored double figures in 23 of 24 contests this season and is second on the team with 17.8 points per game. He has hauled in at least five rebounds 12 times this season.

Prince George's will begin the region tournament on February 23 as the No. 1 seed. The team will open the tournament with a 1:30 p.m. start time. The Owls swept through region play with a 6-0 record and clinched the top seed with a 72-56 win against Anne Arundel Community College on January 18. The squad will be searching for its eighth region tournament title and first since the 2015-16 season. Prince George's will be hosting the tournament for the first time since 2013-14. 

This year is the 46th and final Maryland JUCO Tournament and the Owls won the title in 1971-72, 1980-81, 1980-81 and 2016-17.

Trailing 6-2, Prince George's scored 10 unanswered points to take a 12-6 lead four minutes into the game. Jalen Robinson (Bowie, Md./Bowie) paced the spurt with a pair of treys for six points. A 7-0 run increased the Largo program's lead to 22-12 midway through the first half.

The Seahawks used a 12-2 run to tie the game at 24 with 5:45 remaining in the stanza. The final six minutes featured one tie and five lead changes, but Cecil went into the locker room with a 39-38 edge.

In the second half, a 12-0 run handed the Owls a 64-59 lead with 8:16 on the clock. Morales paced the run with six points.

With the game tied at 74, the Seahawks made two free throws and never trailed again to advance to the Maryland JUCO semifinals with its second win against Prince George's this season.

Robinson finished the game with nine points. Dexter Turner (Washington, D.C./Idea Public Charter) added eight points, four rebounds and three assists while Darren Rivers (District Heights, Md./DuVal) tallied seven points and six rebounds.