Owls Survive Late Push by Essex County
| Final | 1 | 2 | T | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Essex County College (0-2) | 25 | 55 | 80 |
|
Prince George's Community College (1-0) | 34 | 52 | 86 |
The Prince George's Community College men's basketball team opened their 2024-25 season with an 86-80 win against Essex County College on Sunday, November 10th in front of a home crowd in Novak Field House. Despite leading by as many as twenty points in Sunday's contest, the Owls managed to let Essex County crawl back in the game's final minutes to make the final score appear as if things were much closer.
Prince George's went into halftime with a 34-25 lead over the visiting Wolverines who were shooting just 33% from the floor and 14% (2-14) from deep. The Owls were slightly better at 35% and 43% (6-14), respectively. Freshman Willie Rivera Jr. led the team in scoring at the break with 13 points which included 3-of-5 from three, while also grabbing 3 rebounds. Returner Jailin Landis was second in team scoring with 8 points and 5 rebounds for the sophomore.
Both teams saw a significant jump in shooting efficiency after the break as each program traded baskets, scoring a combined 107 points in the second half. The Owls kept the game in their control throughout, holding a double-digit lead for most of the time until Essex County forced multiple turnovers in the final minute to close out the game on an 8-1 run to make it just a 6-point victory for Prince George's at the final horn. The Owls shot over 53% from the floor in the second to finish the day 44.3% overall, but struggled from the free throw line, 54.8% (23-42), which allowed Essex County to hang around.
Rivera Jr. finished with 24 points as the game's leading scorer with Landis just behind at 22 points while adding 7 boards and notching a team-high 3 steals. Freshman Lynn King III added 12 points which was matched by Michael Osuji's 12 off the bench to round out the top scorers in Sunday's victory. With the win, the Owls are now 3-0 under head coach Terrell Harris in season openers as they turn their attention to their next opponent, Washington Adventist University JV, on Tuesday, November 12th at 6 PM in Novak Field House.
