For most high school students, winter break is a week and a half at the end of the calendar year to sleep in, spend time with family, and relax outside of school. For dozens of athletes throughout the county, however, the break is spent on the court, sharpening both skills and team chemistry. BCPS teams participated in several winter break tournaments across the state, and here is a look at how many teams performed:
Chesapeake: The Bayhawks participated in Overlea’s holiday tournament and played two games. On the tournament’s third day, Chesapeake played their first game, facing off against the Owings Mills Golden Eagles, but falling 65-56. On the fourth day of the tournament, Chesapeake fell to the Ben Franklin Bayhawks, from Baltimore City, 70-56.
Dulaney: The Lions played in the first two days of the Overlea holiday tournament, facing off against New Hope Academy and their rivals, the Towson Generals. On the first day, the Lions came up short against the Tigers, losing 90-49, then going on to take down Towson in a 50-46 game.
Eastern Tech: The Mavericks traveled to New York City to participate in a holiday tournament at Elmcor in Queens, NY. The first game was a 50-48 win against Queens High while the second was a 75-55 loss to Pope Francis Prep from Springfield, Massachusetts. Adrian Pefianco combined for 39 points across the two games while Brian James Jr. had twelve points with three steals in the game two loss. Following the tournament, Eastern Tech had the opportunity to attend a practice for the Hofstra Pride basketball team. The Mavericks now turn their focus to their first regular season game of 2026 against Parkville.
Hereford: The Bulls traveled several hours into the mountains of Maryland to compete in the 36th annual Snowball Classic, hosted by Southern Garrett High School. On Friday night, Hereford took down the hosting Rams 37-35, with a buzzer-beater lay up from junior Joe Daw. In Saturday’s championship game, Hereford faced the North Hagerstown Hubs, falling 67-63. Since the end of the tournament, the team has returned to regular practices as they prepare for an away game against Woodlawn on Wednesday.
Kenwood: The Bluebirds went into the break on a three-game win streak, defeating Aberdeen, Sparrows Point, and Chesapeake in the week before the break. In Kenwood’s annual Christmas Classic, the team lost to a senior-heavy Elkton Golden Elks team 65-35. Sophomore Maurice Evans and Freshman Adrienne Guzman lead the team in points per game with ten and nine, respectively. Chaze Johnson and Tyre Robinson both average 8-9 rebounds per game, also leading the second best team in BCPS Division I.
Lansdowne: The Vikings participated in Overlea’s holiday tournament, playing two games against Coppin Academy and Baltimore Polytechnic. Lansdowne took down Coppin Academy 71-37, with Topaz Norris accounting for 21 points and eight rebounds while Trevor Howard had 17 points of his own. Serigne Babou had eight blocks and seven rebounds in the win. Lansdowne went on to fall to the Poly Engineers on day four of the tournament.
Milford Mill: The Millers traveled to Salisbury to participate in the “Best Experience in High School Hoops”, the 42nd annual Governor’s Challenge. On Friday, December 26, the Millers could not take down Delaware’s Smyrna Eagles, with a 78-60 final score. Romeo Hart achieved a double-double in the loss, with 22 points and fifteen rebounds. On Saturday afternoon, Milford Mill avenged the previous day’s loss, as they defeated the Wagner Falcons from Staten Island. The final score in their second game was 63-60, led by Bryce Galloway who had a 36 point performance. Milford Mill then went on to face the St. Francis Panthers in a showcase.
Owings Mills: The Golden Eagles were yet another BCPS team competing in the Overlea tournament, competing against the Chesapeake Bayhawks on the afternoon of day three, and the Coppin Academy Eagles on the fourth day. Their first game resulted in a nine point Owings Mills win with a final score of 65-56, but the Golden Eagles fell to the private school 54-36 on the tournament’s final day.
Overlea: The Falcons expanded their annual holiday tournament, hosting 36 total teams across four days with nine games each day. The tournament also expanded to host girls basketball teams for the first time. Overlea played two games, taking down the Randallstown Rams 77-60 on December 26 and falling to New Hope Academy from Landover Hills, MD, with a final score of 81-41. Senior guard Korrie Foster Jr. accounted for 30 of the team’s 77 points in the game against Randallstown per Maxpreps.
Parkville: The Knights competed in Meade High School’s Christmas tournament on December 29 and December 30. In their first game, Parkville fell to Meade 74-47, and in the second, they lost a close game to the Wildcats with a final score of 56-48. Throughout the tournament, Parkville senior Cameron Alexander served as a strong leader for the entire team. The Knights are set to host Eastern Tech in their first game of 2026, taking place on January 7.
Perry Hall: The Gators played two afternoon games in Overlea’s tournament, playing on the first two days. Perry Hall dropped their day one game 55-52 against Maurice McDonough High from Charles County. The Gators went on to play Rosedale Christian, but dropped a 71-65 final score to the Panthers.
Randallstown: The Rams played two night games in Overlea’s holiday tournament, as they faced off at 7:15pm on night one and 6:00pm on night two. In the team’s first game, they fell to the hosting Falcons with a final score of 77-60, then going on to drop their second game to the Archbishop Curley Friars by a smaller margin, 64-52.
Towson: The Generals participated in a tournament hosted by Overlea High School, facing off against Loch Raven and Dulaney. Towson took down the Raiders and fought back from a 25-point deficit as they lost to Dulaney 50-46. The comeback came with incredible defense, as the team came back from a 22-point deficit going into the fourth quarter to only lose by a handful of points.
