Overlea boys basketball entered Wednesday’s matchup against rival Dulaney with a steely disposition.
The host Falcons expected an attack from the Lions but were ready to counter.
Quality defensive runs and some good work on the offensive boards were factors, but it was timely 3-point shooting that proved the key difference as Overlea claimed a 79-68 victory over the Lions in Baltimore County’s Division 2 opener for both teams.
Senior guard Korey Blair took game-high honors with 34 points featuring six of the Falcons’ 15 3s. Korrie Foster added 22 points – including six more 3s – and Kamon Gross had a triple-double with 10 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists.
Overlea improves to 7-0 overall, while Dulaney drops to 7-2.
The game comes with added incentive for Blair, who missed a 3-pointer in the final seconds of last year’s 64-62 loss to Dulaney. He produced a sensational performance from start to finish on Wednesday.
“This is the match I really want. Last year, they beat us and I failed [potential] the game-winning shot, so it was a good thing for me to come out strong,” he said.
Expand
After Blair hit four consecutive 3s midway through the first quarter — giving the home team a 19-12 lead — the trend of the game emerged: The Falcons would take the lead, and the Lions would come back.
The Falcons took a 35-28 lead at halftime, only to see Dulaney – who got 27 points from Kelan Dennis and 21 more from Chase Huber – sprint closer.
Dennis’ 3 put the Lions up 46-45 with 2:42 left in the third quarter, but the Falcons answered with a 3 from Austin Carter and two from Foster. Nine points in 48 seconds pushed the lead back to 55-45.
A 7-0 Dulaney run – including five points from Dennis – followed to cut the lead to 55-52 entering the fourth quarter.
A basket from Huber cut the lead to two points, and the Lions stopped and had a chance to tie the game before the Falcons enjoyed another dose of 3s. Foster hit the first basket, and Dennis answered with another to make it 62-54 with 5:07 remaining. At that point, no matter how hard they played, the Lions still couldn’t recover.
“Every time we made a run, they seemed to make big baskets. “Some of it was just being more disciplined defensively – making the right switches and fighting through screens – just wanting it more than they did,” Dulaney coach James Dickey said. “So hats off to them. Our players fought hard, especially when we got within two and then four, but we couldn’t overcome the adversity.”
In this victory, the Falcons appeared fierce and measured in blocking all the Lions’ runs.
“We accept this challenge. “We love it when teams try to come out here and try to beat us,” Blair said. “Our principle is to be tough and we are bullies on the pitch. So we try to keep things low-key and if something happens, we’ll take a break and regroup.”
Overlea coach Will Watts was impressed with his team’s poise, and it started with its ability to hit big shots.
“Big 3,” he said. “They will always be worth more than two points, so you hit three points very quickly and the numbers add up. It’s obviously a good team, a good program and we’re looking forward to this game because they beat us last year. We had the last possession to get it and Korey missed a wide open shot. So he said he wanted this game and he really showed up.”
Both teams return to league play with the game set for 5:30 p.m. Friday. Overlea travels to Carver A&T, while Dulaney hosts Catonsville.
Have a news tip? Contact Glenn Graham at ggraham@baltsun.com410-332-6636 and x.com/GlennGrahamSun.
Dulaney — 9-19-24-16 — 68
excessive — 15-21-20-23 — 79
D — Huber 21, Coward 6, Dennis 27, Rankk 4, Fine 6, Corley-Pugh 4
O — Gross 10, Carter 9, Salako 4, Foster 22, Blair 34
Gaming Hub
A gaming hub can refer to a central platform or space dedicated to gaming, where players can access games, interact with other gamers, and enjoy related content. Here are a few different kinds of gaming hubs you might be referring to:
Physical Gaming Hubs:
Gaming Cafés: Physical locations where players can rent time on high-end gaming PCs or consoles to play popular multiplayer or single-player games.
Esports Arenas: Specialized venues for competitive gaming tournaments where players or teams face off in games like League of Legends, CS
, or Fortnite.
Digital Gaming Hubs:
Steam, Epic Games Store, or GOG: Digital storefronts where you can purchase and play games, join online communities, and access updates and patches.
Game Launchers: Platforms like Steam, Blizzard’s Battle.net, and Xbox Game Pass often act as hubs where gamers can access multiple titles and keep track of their library.
Cloud Gaming Platforms: Services like NVIDIA GeForce Now or Xbox Cloud Gaming that allow players to stream games on various devices without needing high-end hardware.
Social/Community Gaming Hubs:
Discord Servers: Dedicated communities for games where players can chat, share tips, and find others to play with.
Reddit Communities: Subreddits dedicated to specific games or gaming news.
Gaming Consoles as Hubs:
Systems like the PlayStation, Xbox, or Nintendo Switch act as central hubs for playing games, interacting with friends, and even streaming content like Netflix or Twitch.
If you meant something specific by “gaming hub,” let me know and I can elaborate further!
