Take, for instance, the past week.

The Blue Devils beat defending Class 4A state champion Col. Zadok Magruder in overtime Dec. 21.

The Colonels defeated Gwynn Park by 21 points Thursday, on the first day of Springbrook's holiday tournament but Friday the Blue Devils worked hard for a 55-50 win over the Yellow Jackets.

“Every game is different. Just because [Magruder] beat [Gwynn Park] by 20 or so points ... it doesn't matter the amount of points, a win is a win. And Gwynn Park played a lot better [against us] than they did [Thursday],” Crowell said.

It's true.

Leading scorer Jalen Harris nearly tripled his point total and Gwynn Park (4-4) played at a higher intensity level throughout.

But Springbrook (7-1) was still the more consistent team through four quarters in what Crowell said was the Blue Devils' best overall performance this winter.

“Gwynn Park is a very athletic team, with good [defensive] pressure. I think we did a good job handling that,” Crowell added.

While teams certainly wanted to pick up wins and confidence over the two-day tournament, Crowell and Yellow Jackets coach Michael Glick both agreed their teams are still finding their way and the competition provided at Springbrook with four perennial state contenders — Thomas Stone was the fourth team — provided invaluable playing experience in out-of-league matches.

Tomazye Anderson and Andrew Robinson took control for Springbrook with 19 and 18 points respectively.

Gwynn Park had three players in double digit points: Harris (17), Ackhel Bazil (12) and Evan Joiner (11).

Springbrook led from the start and managed to keep its nose out in front the duration. But the Yellow Jackets were constantly in striking distance.

Springbrook led 12-9 after the first quarter and 26-22 at halftime. Just one point separated the teams in the second half.

“[Friday] we played much harder. When we play collectively as a team, we are as good as anyone. When we play individually and selfish, we can't win basketball games. [Friday] we did a good job, we had open looks and great passes but in the end they took it,” Bazil said.

jbeekman@gazette.net

Springbrook 55, Gwynn Park 50

Gwynn Park (4-4) 9 13 12 16 — 50

Springbrook (7-1) 12 14 14 15 — 55

Gwynn Park — Jalen Harris 17; Ackhel Bazil 12; Evan Joiner 11; Anwar Mack 2; Isaiah Martin 2; Terry Martin 2; Aaron Parker 2; John Wilburn 2.

Springbrook — Tomazye Anderson 19; Andrew Robinson 18; Nick Brewer 8; Isaiah Eisendorf 4; Jarod Mustaf 4; Dekon

The out-of-county matchup against Gwynn Park at the Springbrook High School Holiday Tournament was the Colonels' first since losing in overtime to the Blue Devils and first without arguably Montgomery County's best point guard, JJ Epps.

Gwynn Park coach Michael Glick said the Yellow Jackets planned to pressure Magruder with its leading defensive player, Epps on the sidelines, his right arm casted and in a sling — Epps broke his hand in the Springbrook loss and will likely be out until Feb. 1, Magruder coach Dan Harwood said.

Instead Magruder did all the pressuring in a 61-40 victory.

When the Colonels (6-1) need a bail out, Harwood said, Epps is the guy to make that happen. He gets into the lane and creates a play for himself almost every time. But Magruder is an excellent passing team and its ability to move the ball around the court became even more important Thursday.

Matt Ricketts took over as floor general and led the team well, Harwood said.

“No one plays with as much heart as he does, he is the leader of our team,” Harwood said. “Matt Ricketts, I would have to say, is probably the second best point guard in the county. He is usually off the ball [for us] but he is comfortable on the ball and he played well for us.”

Magruder typically implements a man-to-man defensive scheme, propelled by quick-footed and scrappy Epps. Thursday it was the Colonel's match-up zone that made Gwynn Park the Colonels' second-lowest scoring opponent — only Northwood scored less (34 points).

“We didn't really plan on playing it that much [Thursday] but it was working so well so we stuck with it in the second half,” Harwood said.

Magruder virtually eliminated Yellow Jackets leading scorer Jalen Harris (19.1 points per game) from Thursday's contest, which was Gwynn Park's (4-3) worst offensive outing.

Ackhel Bazil's game-high 21 points were well above his 9.1 points-per-game average but it wasn't enough.

“Magruder did an excellent job moving the ball and hitting open shots and we just really struggled to score against their zone. That was the biggest difference, we could not score against their zone,” Glick said.

It took about eight minutes — Magruder scored just 10 points in the first quarter — for the Colonels to adjust to their new dynamic. But after a 10-4 first quarter, they took control on both sides of the ball.

Nick Griffin, Magruder's all-time leading scorer, netted five 3-point shots to pace the Colonels with 20 points.

Usual sixth-man Danny Schaerr (14) also came up with some big baskets for Magruder.

The Colonels doubled their scoring in the second quarter to take a 30-16, halftime lead. They never led by less than 14 points the remainder of the evening.

“We tried to pressure [Magruder] with JJ out...Magruder is a hard team to play from behind,” Glick said.

jbeekman@gazette.net

Magruder 61, Gwynn Park 40

Gwynn Park (4-3) 4 12 8 16 — 40

Magruder (6-1) 10 20 16 15 — 61

Gwynn Park — Ackhel Bazil 21; Evan Joiner 8; Jalen Harris 6; Aaron Parker 3; Cedric Hines 2.

Magruder — Nick Griffin 20; Danny Schaerr 14; Justin Witmer 13; Brian Coleman 5; Josiah Jones 5; Tyril Jackson 2; Matt Ricketts 2.

Brian Lewis/The Gazette

Gwynn Park High School coach Mike Glick

Gwynn Park High School coach Mike Click

Brian Lewis/The Gazette

rederick Douglass High School coach Tyrone Massenburg points to the bench during a game last week.

Brian Lewis/The G

nn Park High School coach Mike Click

Brian Lewis/The Gaze

Frederick Douglass High School coach Tyrone Massenburg points to a player during a game last week.

Brian Lewis/The Gazette

Frederick Douglass High School coach Tyrone Massenburg.

Brian Lewis/The Gazette

There’s a rivalry brewing in the Prince George’s County 3A/2A/1A boys basketball league.

Multiple rivalries, actually. Between grizzled veterans and wily young newcomers. Between tactical geniuses and calm and composed entities. Between up tempo lovers and defensive specialists.

No, those aren’t the dozens of talented athletes who play for the division’s schools. It’s the coaches.

In a season that already figured to be extremely competitive among the boys basketball teams in the 3A/2A/1A league, the addition of Billy Lanier and the return of Steve Matthews pushed the coaching experience and prowess to an unprecedented level for the 2012-13 season.

“The coaching in this league is ridiculous,” said Gwynn Park coach Mike Glick.

And he’s right. Glick, who is in his seventh year at Gwynn Park after coaching for two decades prior, took over the Yellow Jackets from Matthews and has molded them into a consistent powerhouse.

Matthews is back into coaching after a six-year break and is hoping to transform Crossland in much the same way he did at Gwynn Park.

Lanier shifted from Charles H. Flowers to Friendly, which had a losing season last year, for personal reasons. He also is hoping to create a second dynasty on the heels of the remarkable program he led with Oxon Hill that won state titles in 2000 and 2003.

“You’ve got some of the older coaches who’ve been around for a long time back in it now,” Lanier said. “You’re going to have to coach every night.”

Then there’s Lewis Howard at Largo. He won a state title in 2008, reached the title game last year and is coaching the Lions for his 13th season. Throw in Tyrone Massenburg at Frederick Douglass, who is the president of the newly rejuvenated Prince George’s County Basketball Coaches’ Association, and Lawrence Pugh, who has Central turning many heads early in his third season with the Falcons, and it’s clear the competition is fierce.

“The games, night-in and night-out, [and] the coaching matchups will be very interesting,” said Massenburg, whose team is 3-2 and knocked off Gwynn Park in overtime last week. “I know the style of play and I know the coaches in our league have a lot of respect for it. I know our teams will be prepared and very seldom will they have nights where they don’t play up to their potential.”

Along with that institutional wherewithal are a couple of talented newcomers in second-year coach Renard Johnson, who has transformed Potomac, and Demario Newman at Surrattsville. Newman expected to have a down year after transitioning from being a dominant head coach on the girls’ side, but has started the season strong.

The only two programs that currently are struggling to gain momentum are Fairmont Heights and Forestville Military Academy. Both were winless as of publication.

The beauty of the year, however, is that the parity in the league remains remarkably high.

Schools — excluding Fairmont Heights and Forestville — have combined for 27 wins in 43 games and a large majority of the losses have come from beating each other.

“This is a tough league. It’s a very tough league. It’s a competitive, competitive league,” said Howard, whose team is 3-2 with losses to Surrattsville and Central. “You’ve got teams that are getting better and better. These consistent teams stay consistent and then other teams are climbing up the ladder and becoming better basketball teams.”

ncammarota@gazette.net