Boonsboro (4-5, 3-3) committed 12 turnovers in the third period alone, allowing Walkersville to stretch a two-point halftime advantage into a 45-29 lead at the end of the third. On five different occasions, the Warriors never got the ball past mid-court.
"We just took the ball to bad spots on the floor and made it easy for them to trap us," Conway said. "To beat the press , you've gotta stay in the middle of the floor. We kept going to the sidelines."
Despite the turnovers, the Warriors were still in position to make a run late in the fourth quarter. Trailing 49-34 with 4:28 left, Cullen Coleman's three-point play started an 8-2 run by Boonsboro which cut the lead to nine points. But Walkersville (5-5, 2-4), which had struggled at the foul line all night, made five straight from the stripe to hold off the Boonsboro rally.
"We were concerned that we weren't getting to the foul line enough," said Walkersville coach Mike Mummert. "We got to the line tonight, then couldn't make the shots. We're lucky that didn't haunt us."
The Lions shot 50 percent (20 for 40) from the free throw line for the game, including a stretch in the first half when they missed seven in a row.
But the Warriors could never take advantage of the Walkersville misses. During the Lions' 0-for-7 string, Boonsboro turned the ball over five times and scored just two points.
"I don't want to take anything way from Walkersville, because their press was very effective," Conway said. "But we made a lot of bad passes that we know not to make. Credit them for forcing us into those passes."
Antwan Nixon had 17 points for Walkersville. Nick Matesa added 11 points, and Howard Hinnant had nine points and 19 rebounds.
Cory Linton was the only Warrior in double figures with 11 points.
