Owls Defend Home Court with Comeback Win

Prince George's men's basketball opened the new year at home in familiar fashion on Wednesday night, defending home court with another gritty come from behind victory, knocking off Allegheny County 91-82.

The Owls were slow out of the gates, falling behind 14-3 in the opening four minutes and trailing by as many as 16 points near the 11-minute mark of the first half. After the slow start Prince George's tightened up on both ends of the floor and began to chip away at the deficit.

Behind a strong first-half performance from Willie Rivera Jr., the Owls sparked a big turnaround. Rivera poured in 15 first-half points on an efficient 6-of-7 shooting, helping to ignite a 19-2 run over nearly seven minutes of game time. That surge gave Prince George's its first lead of the night, 31-30, at the 4:43 mark of the half. The Owls carried that momentum into the locker room with a 44-39 halftime advantage.

Rivera continued to lead the charge after the break, finishing with as the game's leading scorer with 32 points to go along with four rebounds and three steals. Defense was the story in the second half, as Prince George's recorded seven blocks from four different players, allowing the Owls to maintain control for much of the final 20 minutes.

Allegheny County briefly regained the lead, pushing ahead 57-51, but Prince George's answered with another run, this time a 13-2 spurt to reclaim control at 64-59 with ten minutes remaining. The Wildcats continued to claw back, but after the Owls extended the lead to 12 with under 5:30 to play, Prince George's was able to hold off any final push.

The Owls received strong contributions throughout the lineup. Sophomore Tyler Donald was highly efficient in his 14 minutes off the bench, scoring a new season-high 14 points. Kadon Fossett added 10 points, five rebounds, and three assists. Paul Vance III narrowly missed a double-double, finishing with 8 points and a game-high ten rebounds.

The victory improves Prince George's to 13-3 overall with a perfect 4-0 mark in Region 20 Division II play. Prince George's now heads on the road for a key regional matchup Friday morning against Howard Community College. The Dragons enter with a 10-7 record, including 4-2 in regional division games. Tip-off is set for 10 AM in Columbia, Maryland.