WESTMORELAND, PA – Anne Arundel Community College freshman Jamar Young poured in a career-high 32 points as the third-seeded Riverhawks upset second-seeded Community College of Allegheny County, 99-90, in the NJCAA Region XX Division III semifinals. The Riverhawks (8-16) will face top-seeded Prince George's Community College Sunday at 3 pm in the championship game at Westmoreland Community College.
Young scored 21 points in the first half on 9-of-12 shooting. In his first meeting with CCAC, Michael Cantrell added 23 points, including 17 in the first half, to go with a game-high seven assists and five steals. Aaron McGriff and Matthew Kern led the Riverhawks' bench effort with 11 points each; Kern hit both three-point attempts in the game.
It was truly a team effort as every AACC player scored at least 2 points and pulled down one rebound. The Riverhawks dished 23 assists on 39 baskets – their highest assist percentage of the season at 59%. AACC also shot 80% from the free throw line, scoring 16 points from the stripe led by a 7-for-7 effort from Cantrell and a 6-of-8 performance from Young.
Anne Arundel built up an early lead and gained momentum through the first half. The Riverhawks' largest lead of 16 came off a Cantrell layup from a steal by Braeden Cavey with 2:03 left in the opening frame.
AACC carried a 54-41 lead into the break, and maintained distance throughout the second half. CCAC got to within seven before the Riverhawks extended back the lead, then again to within six with 3:08 to play before AACC called time out.
A foul immediately out of the time out afforded CCAC a pair of free throws, which brought the Wild Cats within four with 2:33 left in the game. Back-to-back buckets from Young followed by a layup from Joseph Chase with under a minute to play pushed AACC back ahead for the convincing win.
AACC scored 60 of its points in the paint, and held a 12-point advantage down low. The Rivherhawks also maintained a 51-43 lead in rebounds, but surrendered 31 points off of 21 turnovers.
The Riverhawks' victory avenges a two-point loss to CCAC on their home court back on January 10, 2020, and sends them to the Region XX title game for the second season in a row. The Riverhawks fell to the Owls in the 2019 title game, 73-68. In this year's regular-season matchup with Prince George's, AACC took an 82-70 loss in a back-and-forth affair in Arnold on December 14, 2019.