Harford Men’s Basketball Finishes Runner-Up; Burgan Named To All-Tournament Team

From the HCC sports desk…

BEL AIR, Md.—Freshman Troy Burgan (Akron, Ohio/North) helped Harford to a second-place finish and was named to the Third Annual Harford Tip-Off Classic All-Tournament Team as the Harford men’s basketball team fell in the championship game last weekend.

Burgan totaled 34 points on the weekend, shooting 9-for-16 from the floor and 16-for-21 from the free throw line and added 15 rebounds and seven assists. The rookie put up a double-double with 18 points and 13 rebounds, while shooting 6-for-10 in the Fighting Owls’ (1-2) 81-62 win over Mercer on Saturday and then added 16 points, four assists, and was a perfect 10-for-10 from the charity stripe in 91-77 championship game loss to Erie on Sunday.

The Owls built a slim, 33-29, halftime lead over the Vikings (1-1) on Saturday, but outscored Mercer, 48-33 in the second half to earn the 81-62 win. Fifteen of Burgan’s 18 points and eight of his 13 rebounds came during the second half, in which Harford shot 52.8% from the floor.

Freshman Jesse Volk (Bel Air, Md./C. Milton Wright) added 20 points for the Owls, shooting 7-for-13 and 4-for-4 behind the arc, while Josh Caver, who joined Burgan on the All-Tournament team, led the Vikings with 15 points, five rebounds, six steals, four assists and three blocks, while shooting 7-for-10.

Caver tallied a double-double with 17 points and 10 rebounds in Mercer’s 83-71 win over CCBC-Essex on Sunday, while Essex’s contribution to the All-Tournament squad, David Ford came just one board away from a double-double adding 18 points and nine rebounds for the Knights (0-2)Ford also shot 4-for-5 from the field and recorded 10 points and four boards in Saturday’s 91-67 loss to Erie.

The Owls struggled from the floor in Sunday’s championship, shooting just 37.1% from the field and 29.2% from 3-point range, while the Kats (4-1) were 51.5% from the floor and 46.7% from behind the arc.

After 20 minutes of play, Harford saw itself down, 44-34, but quickly made up ground thanks to a 9-0 run in just over two minutes that put them within two points of Erie, 50-48, with 15:09 left to play. The Kats, however, answered with a 9-1 run of their own to take a 59-49 lead with 13:19 left and after the next Harford bucket by Volk, the Owls would come no close than 10 points for the rest of the game, falling 91-77.

Freshman Jasper Holleman (Richmond, Va./Matoaca) was the only other Harford player to score in the double-digits as he contributed 11 points, while freshman Deonte Lewis (Petersburg, Va./Dinwiddie) added 10 boards for the Owls.

Tola Lawal and Tijani Idris, the Kats representatives to the All-Tournament team led the way over Harford tallying 17 points and six rebounds and 14 points and four boards, respectively. Lawal also added a tournament-high 26 points and added five rebounds in Erie’s 91-67 win over Essex, while Idris notched a double-double with 17 points and 15 boards.

The Fighting Owls return to action this weekend when they travel to Wilmington, N.C. for the Cape Fear Basketball Challenge beginning with a 5:00 p.m. matchup against Rockingham on Saturday.