South River boys basketball outlasts Old Mill, 52-47, behind James Crimaudo’s 28 points

South River boys basketball wanted to give senior James Crimaudo more touches in the paint.

During an ugly win against Huntingtown on Monday, the Hurricanes face-guarded the talented 6-foot-5 senior and the Seahawks realized other teams would soon adopt those strategies and render the very capable shooter less useless if he didn’t adapt.

He took that assignment very seriously. Crimaudo split his 28 points between the post and perimeter to pile nearly half of the Seahawks’ total in Friday’s, 52-47, win over Old Mill.

“Honestly, tonight was the James show,” South River coach Darren Hall said. “We didn’t give him much support in scoring from other places. We usually get it from Jack [Schrader], Jamie [Finn], Liam [Barney] — but that’s a credit to Old Mill’s game plan, too.”

The Seahawks (8-3) more so outlasted the Patriots than beat them. Despite carrying a losing record (1-9), Old Mill has yet to suffer a bad loss against the top layer of county teams so far. The visitors embody the simple truth about Anne Arundel boys basketball: These teams haven’t been this even in ages.

That nonstop parity has acted like the best fertilizer for growing back a South River team that lost four of five starters to graduation. It’s what Hall stresses to his players before every game: anyone can beat them.

“There’s no nights off. Not one. Hopefully tonight, they learned that a little bit more,” Hall said.

Only five points separated Old Mill from tying the game with 28.8 on the clock. Patriots coach Greg Smith drew his players in. If they could hit a 3-pointer, they’d have South River on an edge. Enough pressure could do it, and nearly did, forcing South River’s ball out of bounds at the first whistle back. But then, the Seahawks aren’t the only team that needs to improve.

“We tried to run a play. We didn’t get the shot we wanted,” Smith said. “That was the game tonight. I thought we rebounded well, but we didn’t get the shots we wanted.”

Only one player really had mastery of the court Friday.

While Crimaudo might’ve fired up a seven-point start, Old Mill’s Dewayne Holloway, Brian Poore and Raysaan Harrison kept it a single-possession margin.

The Patriots closed in on Crimaudo, and the issue that would permeate South River’s offense this entire game was clear already: When he wasn’t scoring, really no one was.

“I think when the shots weren’t falling, we got away from executing to try to keep getting good shots so we could get into a rhythm,” Hall said. “We got to get to the foul line more, and I think that may help us settle, see a couple go through the rim, and come back out and hopefully be able to hit some.”

Only in the final seconds of the first quarter was Crimaudo able to break loose again for another two for an 11-8 first quarter advantage.

But as the second quarter began, the Patriots’ scoring diminished. The Seahawks defense squeezed the life force out, forcing turnovers or poorer shots than Old Mill would’ve liked.

With Crimaudo drumming up the majority of the scoring, the Seahawks could finally feel freer of the shadow on their heels. By the time Luke Fletcher mustered the next Patriots basket, South River had built a double-digit wall between them with a 29-18 lead at the half.

Baskets from Jahson Moreau (21 points) kept Old Mill’s face above water in the third quarter. Finally, the Seahawks’ offense spread beyond Crimaudo — Schrader and Daniel Lewis converted from the foul line, keeping the lead at 10, 40-30, after three quarters.

“It’s not always going to be a pretty game. We want to think of it as chess, but every now and then you’re just bumping heads with the guy next to you,” Crimaudo said. “We’re going to definitely try and refine a bit so we look more unified in times like that, that late in the game.”

South River, now frequent visitors to the foul line, had seemingly written in the win, up 10 with a minute to go.Moreau did not view things that way. The Patriots senior fired seven points back.

The Seahawks jammed the inside until a failed putback popped loose. South River sophomore Jaden McDuffie swiped it, passed to Schrader.

“It’s not a one man show for anybody,” Crimaudo said. “We’re all playing for each other, especially on defense. We’ve got some really gritty kids who aren’t afraid to get on the floor for a loose ball.”