On Mon., Feb.  10 the Bel Air Boys’ Basketball Team hosted the No. 2 ranked Joppatown Mariners in a big game for the Bobcats after losing their first division game on Saturday. Unfortunately, the Mariners were too much to handle, beating them by a score of 82-67.

No. 2 Joppatown came out strong, scoring their first baskets off of fast breaks. Joppatown is known for their tough defense so the Bobcats were forced to shoot from outside, but the Bobcats held strong though, as Senior C.J. Simmons buried 2 3’s to keep the Bobcats within reach. The Cats’ trailed by 8 going into the second quarter.

Jopptown came out of the break, going on an 11-4 run. The Mariners created numerous second chance points, out rebounding the Bobcats on the offensive side. Bel Air would not go down though as Jahari Carmichael and Kevin Morrissey each had their share of 3’s to keep Joppatown from running away with it. The Bobcats would not let the lead expand, always coming right back at them.

“We are a mentally tough team. We never try to get down and always keep pushing each other,” Senior Captain Chris Murdock said.

The Bobcats kept fighting as the second half began, determined to pull off the upset. Junior John Gallina put some in valuable minutes, helping the Bobcats on the boards and putting another body in the paint. But the Mariners would not be denied as they went on a 14-2 run with multiple deep 3’s. Junior Drew Adams gave the Bobcats a little momentum going into the fourth quarter after hitting a buzzer-beating 3 pointer.

Bel Air used that momentum and showed their unwillingness to give up by going a run to bring the lead to within 9 with 1:42 to play, but time was against the ‘Cats as Joppatown pulled away after Bel Air was forced to foul to stop the clock. The Bobcats shot over 30 3-point-shots, making 14 of them, but that was not enough as the No.2 ranked Joppatown Mariners handed Bel Air their second straight loss with a score of 82-67.

Chris Murdock also said, “We all, as a group, need to do better on the glass and [in] transition defense. We need to make those are main two focus points going into the next game and the playoffs.”

The Bobcats next game will on Tue., Feb. 11 at 7 P.M. at Rising Sun High School.