Largo is beaten badly 80-50 at the hands of the Yellow Jackets  

Passing game helps lift team to 30-point victory, Yellow Jacket girls suffer first loss of season

‘‘Even in practice we’re always together, working on our camaraderie,” Thomas said. ‘‘It really helps us and it showed on the court.”

The Yellow Jackets (13-0, 9-0 after defeating Friendly on Tuesday) trailed 19-15 after the first quarter, in which Largo’s Aaron Martin scored 11 of his 13 points and the Lions’ 6-foot-11 center, Maurice Sutton (12 points, four blocks), grabbed five of his seven rebounds.

But within the first minute of the second quarter, the Yellow Jackets jumped ahead with two Washington-to-Thomas transition layups. With four minutes before halftime, Thomas swiped a ball from Largo and fed Washington for a two-handed dunk to end a 6-0 run that put Gwynn Park ahead for good, 29-25.

Washington returned the favor to his teammate for his own jam, and the Yellow Jackets, who had been blown out in two of their last three meetings with Largo, had a 10-point lead. The difference grew to 30 when Tim Floyd hit a crowd-rousing 3-pointer at the final buzzer, giving Largo its first regular-season loss in the county in two seasons.

‘‘It was pretty shocking for us because the first half was back and forth and a real close game,” Washington said. ‘‘It was surprising when we were up by 20.”

Gwynn Park held Largo (11-2, 8-1 after defeating Forestville on Tuesday), which averaged 85 points entering the game, to a season low in scoring and limited the Lions to just two field goals in the fourth quarter, piling on to its 52-45 lead entering the period.

When they weren’t scoring in transition, the Yellow Jackets were cycling the ball around the perimeter, taking their time to make plays inside for easy baskets and dictating the pace.

‘‘That was the execution of the game plan to perfection for us, especially in the second half,” Glick said. ‘‘Our players were able to play with controlled discipline and handle the pressure.”

Chibuike Achuko scored 14 points for Gwynn Park and Corey Anderson chipped in 10. Klevin Pollard added 13 points for Largo, which will get a chance to get back at the Yellow Jackets when the Lions play host to the rematch on Feb. 19.

E-mail Kevin Hilgers at khilgers@gazette.net.