Upper Marlboro Products Shine in March Madness

How impressive is the list of Prince George's County products playing Division I college basketball? Just take a look at Friday's NCAA tournament games between Duke and Hampton and George Mason and Villanova.

There were county products on all four teams.

Duke senior guard Nolan Smith, from Upper Marlboro, made three of seven shots from the field and two free throws for nine points as the Blue Devils beat Hampton, 87-45, on Friday.

Kwame Morgan II of Hampton had three points for the Pirates, who won the MEAC title to gain a spot in March Madness. Morgan II, who attended Largo High School, was one of Hampton's top players this season. The Pirates' roster had a strong Prince George's flavor, as Laurel High grads Chris Tolson and Milade Lola-Charles, DuVal High grad Danny Agbelese and Bakari Taylor (Roosevelt) were also with Hampton.

Kyrie Irving had 14 points for Duke after he missed the last 26 games. "It felt like a huge weight was lifted off my shoulders," Irving said about his long-distance shooting. "I saw my teammates smiling on the bench. I had a smile on my face. Just knowing that I'm back, it feels good to be back."

Then on Sunday, Smith had 24 points as Duke beat Michigan, 73-71, to earn a spot in the Sweet 16 and a date with Arizona on Thursday in the West Region. "I think the flip that I switched today was I don't want to take this Duke jersey off," Smith, a possible NBA draft pick, told reporters after Sunday's game.

Smith played at Riverdale Baptist during a prep career that included a stop at Oak Hill Academy in southwest Virginia.

Also on Friday, George Mason beat Villanova, 61-57. Mason senior Isaiah Tate, who grew up in the Largo High district, had 10 points off the bench for the Patriots. Rashad Whack, who played at McNamara High, played one minute for Mason against Villanova.

“At one point, I thought ‘we’ve been here before – we’ve been down against teams,’ ” Tate told reporters after the game. “And at the same time, I thought they really were on.”

"This was anything but pretty, but it's not important whether it's pretty or not," Mason head coach Jim Larranga said after the win over 'Nova. "What is important is advancing. And we survived."

The Villanova roster includes Largo High grad Maurice Sutton, who had three points and three rebounds in 13 minutes off the bench for the Wildcats.

The Mason season came to an end on Sunday against overall No. 1 seed Ohio State in a 98-66 loss in Cleveland. Tate, normally the sixth man, got the start when teammate Luke Hancock was not able to play due to illness. Tate had four points while Whack had three and Byron Allen of Upper Marlboro had six for the Patriots.

In the women's tournament, Tianna Hawkins (Riverdale Baptist) is a sophomore for the University of Maryland. She led the Terps in field goal percentage heading into Sunday's 70-48 victory against St. Francis (PA) in College Park. The Terps, with six points from Hawkins on Sunday, will face Georgetown on Tuesday at 7 p.m.

Brenda Frese, the head coach for Maryland, told Patch that this is the first time she has ever had a team at the college level with no seniors. "I feel they have gone above and beyond expectations. People forget how young this team is," she said in an interview at her office at the Comcast Center on Friday.

The Terps lost at Georgetown early this season. "We really showed our (lack of) experience. We really showed our youth," Frese said. "At times it is a challenge" with no senior leaders.

The James Madison women, who won the CAA tourney title at The Show Place Arena in Upper Marlboro earlier this month, lost 86-72 on Sunday to Oklahoma in the NCAA tourney at the University of Virginia.