Summerour helps Wolverine boys score big victory

Watkins Mill 58, Rockville 32

It was clear early Friday was an on-night for the Wolverines’ leader, who averages 17.3 points per game. He scored a team-high 26 points from all angles of the hardwood, 21 of them in the first half. And his teammates fed off his adrenaline to win their fourth straight game.

Friday’s contest was close for about five minutes. Watkins Mill led 10-7 with three minutes remaining in the first quarter. But led by Summerour, and fellow seniors Will Adams (8 points) and Bobby Bazelias, who scored six of his seven total points in the first half Friday, the Wolverines jumped to a 17-7, first-quarter lead and had a comfortable 36-16 cushion by halftime.

‘‘That kid Jason Summerour is a nightmare of a matchup,” first-year Rockville coach G.J. Kissal said. ‘‘He’s a real talented kid. You put a big kid on him and he’s more athletic. You put a smaller kid on him and he’ll just shoot right over him.”

Summerour’s performance Saturday was symptomatic of Watkins Mill’s late-season mission to utilize the paint more. He netted two from behind the 3-point arc and some long jumpers but also used his strength to get inside for some easy buckets. And the Wolverines’ strength down low — with Summerour and 6-foot-5 Bazelias — adds another dimension to their attack.

Watkins Mill moved the ball around well offensively. Its inside-out approach successfully opened up the floor for some good opportunities around the perimeter as well. And the Wolverines took advantage. ‘‘It’s one thing to be tall and talk about it and another to go out and take advantage of your size,” first-year Watkins Mill coach Jay Tringone said. ‘‘We’d kind of fallen in love with shooting the outside shots. Whether you’re big or small, it takes patience to get the ball inside. It’s a mindset. And it takes some of the pressure off that outside shots. And that’s what really has changed the last couple weeks.”

Rockville’s situation this year is not unlike Watkins Mill’s last season. The only varsity experience the Rams (1-17, 1-9 in the 3A⁄2A⁄1A) have is what they’ve picked up this season. They stayed with Wolverines early. Led by Anthony senior Anthony Jordan (12 points) and freshman DeAndre Kelly (6 points) the Rams played deliberately early, moving the ball around well and slowing the game down, forcing Watkins Mill to be patient.

But, a few mental mistakes proved costly. It snowballed from there.

‘‘As far as experience, that stuff definitely does help,” Tringone said. ‘‘Especially at this time of the year, heading into playoffs. These guys have played a lot of varsity minutes, they have a lot of game experience. This is Jason’s third year on varsity, Bobby’s second. And at this point it really helps that they’ve developed into these great leaders through their actions. They’ve really come together and decided that it doesn’t matter who puts the ball in the basket as long as we as a team put the ball in the basket and it’s really starting to show.”