Henry's scoring lifts Gwynn Park to region final
Yellow Jackets to visit undefeated Oakland Mills on Friday
What Yellow Jackets' coach Mike Glick didn't know after junior guard Eric Batts suffered a season-ending injury in December was who would step up and fill the role of the team's third scorer.
In Gwynn Park's 76-62 win Wednesday at No. 2 seed Glenelg in a 2A South Region semifinal, senior guard Daniel Henry filled that void. It couldn't have come at a better time.
Henry led the No. 3 seed Yellow Jackets (16-8) with 20 points and spurred an 11-5 run to end the third quarter that allowed Gwynn Park to regain the lead. He then added two critical driving layups in the fourth quarter to help the Yellow Jackets extend their advantage and advance to the 2A South Region final, set for 7 p.m. Friday at Oakland Mills High in Columbia. Top-seeded Oakland Mills remained undefeated (25-0) with a 55-42 victory against Frederick Douglass in the other 2A South semifinal on Wednesday.
"It's hard to beat us when we have three scorers you can't stop," Henry said. "Ever since [Batts] went down, I've tried to step up."
Ford and Barnes finished with 18 and 16 points, respectively. But it was Henry who provided Gwynn Park's most steady offensive effort. The Yellow Jackets dominated the first quarter and led 25-14 after eight minutes. But the Gladiators (16-8) slowly inched to within three points by halftime.
Ford, a Howard University recruit, is one of Prince George's County's top scorers, averaging 18.3 points per game. Barnes, a 6-foot-5 forward, averages 15.4 per contest. Ford had just three points in the first half, while Barnes had nine, and Glenelg's emphasis on stopping those two was evident.
It remained so in the opening minutes of the third quarter, when the Gladiators opened with an 11-4 run to take a 42-38 lead. With three minutes left and the momentum now firmly with Glenelg, Henry made a layup, then a put back attempt on the possession after a Ford basket. The game was tied and the Yellow Jackets slowly rebuilt their lead until Henry spun to the basket and scored to give Gwynn Park a commanding 64-56 advantage with 1:36 left in the game.
"The kid was able to come in and spark us offensively," Glick said. "We've struggled this year when we haven't scored the ball. We've been a pretty good defensive team. We took the best that Glenelg had and that's the best we've responded to adversity all year."
It was an especially satisfying performance for Henry, who averaged less than seven points in the Yellow Jackets' last five regular season games.
"I didn't want to lose and I didn't want to leave anything out on the floor," Henry said. "I just played hard. If we're down five or up five in the second half, that's our game. So if we just keep playing, we'll get the win."
Gwynn Park 76, Glenelg 62
Gwynn Park 25 9 16 26 - 76
Glenelg 14 17 16 15 - 62
Gwynn Park (16-8): Daniel Henry 20, Brandon Ford 18, Tion Barnes 16, Brian Hall 13, Nick Walton 4, Jarvis Hawkins 2, Hershel Grant 2, Terrence Johnson 1.
Glenelg (16-8): Shane Kellaher 18, Troy Spurrier 15, Joe Tolbert 14, Jake True 5, Ryan Griffin 3, Erik Sigfried 3, Robbie Mullinix 2, Matt Hyer 2.