HIGH SCHOOL
Shawn Jones scores 24 as Meade boys basketball dispatches Indian Creek, 76-61
By Katherine Fominykh
Capital Gazette

Dec 19, 2022 at 9:16 pm

The Meade boys basketball team that defeated Indian Creek on Friday isn’t a complete package yet. The Mustangs just finished their fourth game — and fourth win — and are still ironing out the wrinkles that formed in the offseason.

But when Meade is on, it’s on. A mix of seasoned returners and sparkling newcomers proved why it’s still the team to watch in the county by controlling the second half and engineering a 76-61 victory over Indian Creek on Monday.

The game was a return of sorts for Eagles coach Pete Corriero, who coached the Mustangs to two state championships. But it didn’t feel like a homecoming for Corriero, who teaches many of the Meade players in his gym class. It’s also been five years since he coached the team, he said. That’s a lot of time, especially now in a post-quarantine-era.

For him, Monday was about focusing on Indian Creek and the future.

“This game helps us in the long run,” he said, “with a hard physical team to get us in the right place before the MIAA conference play starts.”

The Eagles (9-6) packed their first month with a sampling of teams from the MIAA A Conference to the cream of the public school crop. Corriero wanted to sharpen his players’ chemistry and speed before conference play.

Against Meade (4-0), he saw some of the same mistakes he knows his team will correct with time: stopping teams in transition, unforced turnovers and rebounding.

“We take great pride in teams that can box out and rebound. I’m not saying the effort isn’t there, but there’s a technique to it — and we’re not there yet,” Corriero said.

For Meade, the win comes just a few days after an “emotional” battle with rival Arundel on Friday and lies two days before one against Old Mill. Despite some new faces — such as Zamar Jones who netted four 3-pointers on Monday — this, by coach Mike Glick’s perspective, is pretty much the same team as last year’s that simply needs to shake off some rust.

“We just have to get better,” Glick said. “[Indian Creek is] a good team and we weathered the storm.”

Continuity of offense is the key. Meade flourished in transition, on 3-point shooting and in the paint in the last year, and did the same in spurts Monday. Shawn Jones, a 6-foot-6 senior who scored 24 points, sparked many of Meade’s runs,

When it became clear that Indian Creek couldn’t manage the whole floor, Meade snapped at the advantage. Kyree Scott, Zamar Jones and Shawn Jones steadily built Meade’s 12-1 lead. But it was a thin, toppling tower of a lead, as the Eagles soon proved.

Corriero’s came out of a timeout on a run. Defensively, Kyndall Crawford (14 points) consumed the floor, along with Kyle Harvin (15 points), picking the ball from a Mustangs squad growing increasingly frantic with every passing point.

The Eagles scored 13 straight, bypassing Meade on a basket from Aiden Evans (12 points).

While Meade struggled to accomplish much in the paint, it still possessed an ace on the perimeter. Back-to-back 3-pointers from Zamar Jones regained control for the Mustangs, who led 20-14 after one quarter.

“We have to quit fouling … and we have to do a better job of sharing the basketball and get the ball to the other person to get the shots,” Glick said. “We’re not playing our best basketball, but it’s early. It’s all about improvement.”

But Meade was still waiting on someone, a figure they’d come to rely on for two years and struggled to turn up against Indian Creek’s box-and-one defense.

The Joneses set the table and cleared the plates, particularly Shawn, who netted 12 points by halftime. But when Xavion Roberson started opening up inside and outside, the Mustangs put distance between themselves and their guests, leading at the half, 40-32.

The energy was too slow, intensity too muffled for Meade’s liking. They talked about picking it up at halftime.