By KATHERINE FOMINYKH | Kfominykh@baltsun.com
PUBLISHED: December 8, 2023 at 10:49 p.m. | UPDATED: December 12, 2023 at 2:11 p.m.

So that’s “rebuilding.”

Meade boys basketball, supposedly under construction after graduating the starting five that led it to the Class 4A state championship game last March, unleashed its second display of skill, talent and power, this time against a top-tier county opponent that the Mustangs could very well see in the playoffs.

“Rebuilding” is senior Zamar Jones stepping into a leadership role and dropping 22 points — mostly 3-pointers. It’s freshman Keon Scott coming off the bench and lighting up the perimeter for 16 points.

“Rebuilding” is Meade picking up where it left off to dictate the tempo and dispel Glen Burnie, 68-55, at home Friday night.

“We have a ways to go. We had a huge lapse in the second quarter, some outrageous Glen Burnie run. But I’m proud of how we responded at halftime,” Mustangs coach Mike Glick said. “We got punched in the face, we got up, and we feel good about ourselves.”

It’s not the same Meade that ruled Anne Arundel County last winter. There’s no 6-foot-6 Shawn Jones grabbing boards under the net, no fiery Xavion Roberson running the offense. But in their place isn’t something lesser. In fact, even though it looked a bit different, it still looked like Meade basketball: quick transitions, bullying rebounding, finesse on the 3-point shot.

That’s what Jones and his fellow varsity returners wanted.

“Once we jell together,” Jones said, “we’re probably unstoppable.”

When Glen Burnie scored first, Meade monopolized the ball for two minutes to figure itself out. The result was an 11-0 run, predominantly spurred by Jones.

Even after regaining possession, Gophers fell ice cold, thawed only slightly by a single layup by Davon McLeod in the final minute of the first quarter. Meade immediately stamped it out — Jones feeding the freshman Scott, who launched a 3-pointer without second thought, drained just before time expired and stood smiling as his older teammates hugged him.

Meade’s Lucaya Baldridge dunks in the second quarter of Friday’s game against Glen Burnie. (Paul W. Gillespie/Staff)
Meade continued to cycle fresh players at a more rapid pace in the second quarter, and for a minute, the momentum didn’t falter. Junior Lucaya Baldridge dunked, follow by slick putbacks from Josh Holmes, a trey from Jones.

But Glen Burnie’s ball-handlers — led by McLeod and Greg Pittman — methodically chipped at Meade’s monopoly through the frame. Senior Tim Shadare popped in the basket that slashed Meade’s lead to one. Then, as the clock approached halftime, Shadare flipped a pass to Pittman, who’s go-ahead, buzzer-beating 3-pointer plinked the rim, rolled and dropped for a 31-29 lead.

“Coach started talking about settling down, move the ball around, see what’s open and look inside,” Jones said. “Inside-out 3s, I started shooting to my side, other people got open.”

Jones was at the wheel as Meade picked up speed to run fast breaks in the third quarter. Then, when it was his turn to shoot, he didn’t miss. Two 3-pointers reclaimed and extended the Mustangs’ lead.

“He and [Lucaya Baldridge] had the most experience, and he had the ball more than Lucaya. I’m really proud of how Zamar has grown up and taken the leadership role,” Glick said. “When negativity happens to him on the court, he’s able to fight through it.”

Granted, the lead should’ve been greater for all the turnovers Meade was forcing. Only the Gophers’ tenacity on the glass held the Mustangs back, but not by much. The team is young, though. Neither Jones nor his coach are too worried about a little mistake like that.

Glen Burnie, once again, fell quiet, but not because Meade kept the ball on its side this time. The Mustangs corralled the Gophers’ shooters with a 1-3-1 defense, spearheaded by junior forward Jaisean Kenner.

After starting in scrimmages, Kenner did not start on Friday. He didn’t play well these last few weeks; he knew that. He was trying to do too much rather than accepting his strengths: a deft rebounder and defensive player.

“I had to step up and be the player that I thought I should be,” Kenner said.

When Kenner returned to the bench after shutting Glen Burnie down again, he and his coach were smiling.

“He changed the entire game,” Glick said. “Our Energizer Bunny. He just made so many hustle plays, deflections, rebounds. One of the best performances I’ve ever seen from the bottom of the 1-3-1.”

That quarter “did Glen Burnie in,” coach Mike Rudd said. Scott replayed the events of the first quarter, a bucket from the perimeter capping a solid lead after three, 49-38. He also hit the last basket of the game.

“Seems like we have somebody we can trust the team to when we leave,” Kenner said.

Meade will not meet Glen Burnie again until February. By that time, Rudd is certain his team will be entirely developed. Bitter as this loss was swallowed by both his team and himself, the longtime Glen Burnie coach recognizes how much further ahead this team than in Decembers past.

Next time may look different.

“Three years ago we went over there and lost by 45 points. A few months later, we saw them again and lost by one,” Rudd said. “We’re a lot farther along than this time last year. We are going to build something.”