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Urbana High boys basketball coach Terry Connolly was the most relaxed person in the Clarksburg gymnasium.

And with his team serving up an 81-33 thrashing over a Walkersville entry in the Montgomery County Liberty Conference Summer League, who could blame him. The veteran head coach sat on the other side of the court and watched his coaching staff and players take care of business in a late-season matchup.

On the other side of the scorer's table, newly appointed Walkersville head coach Ryan Burkey shouting directives to his overmatched team. Without star player Scott Morris, who was nursing several injuries, the Lions were no match for the Hawks, who were also playing without one of its main frontcourt players, rising senior Alex Crawford.

Along with Thomas Johnson, the three Frederick entrants in the league have been honing their games for the past month in the sweltering hot gym just south of the Frederick County line. While summer league play has several meanings for many players and coaches, winning still doesn't go out of style.

"It affects us if we lose, no matter what [the season]," said Urbana guard Matt Lowe. "We play to win, we don't like to lose. We want a [summer league] championship. We want to win everything. That's what we are about."

Burkey already knows his team is in somewhat of a rebuilding mode after winning the Monocacy Valley Athletic League's Piedmont Conference during the regular season. So now, fundamentals are a staple to the Lions' off-season program.

"We're not doing a whole lot; I just want them to learn how to play basketball," Burkey said. "We're not really running any set offenses. Sometimes we struggle, and it doesn't look pretty. I think come the [regular] season, we'll be better off having gone through [the summer league]."

Urbana's Joe Merkel rung up a game-high 24 points to help his team improve to 8-1, while Lowe added 15. Frank Jarboe contributed 15, while Kyle Thomas tossed in 10. Merkel, a junior transfer from Good Counsel, was effective on the outside as well as the inside.

Urbana started on the right track early on, taking advantage of 19 consecutive points to take a commanding 37-9 advantage late in the first half. The Lions' Jeremy Musselman broke the draught with a jumper, two of his team high 13 points.

Notes: Despite his injuries, Morris has enjoyed a productive off-season in various camps. According to Burkey, the first team All-Gazette guard is attracting the attention of Division I schools such as Davidson, Air Force, Harvard, Navy and Siena (N.Y.).