When the Howard Community Community College men's basketball team hosted Hagerstown Community College on Sunday, the coaching staff knew the Dragons were in for a tough game against their conference's No. 1 team.

So it was a moral victory to hold Hagerstown to 30 first-half points (the score was tied at 30 at the half) and to ultimately lose the game by just four points, according to coaches.

Hagerstown won the conference game, 76-72.

“We did a good job on the defensive end, holding the top team in the league to 76 points," said Dragons Head Coach Mike Smelkinson. 

Hagerstown pulled away from HCC early in the second half with timely 3-point shots and transition points to build a 49-40 lead.

After establishing that lead, Hagerstown never trailed again.

HCC did battle back, but missed short shots and free throws kept the Dragons from getting back to the lead. 

Leo Rogers (Hammond High School) once again was a spark off the bench, leading all scorers with 14 points. 

James Peters (Oakland Mills) continues to be the outside threat for HCC with four 3-pointers. He finished with 12 points. 

Aaron Bellamy (Howard) had 11 points,  Jeff James (Bowie) had 10, and  Sean Sullivan (Reservoir) and Dolapo Olugbile (Reservoir) each had six points. 

HCC continues to improve each week and has shown that it can compete with the upper level teams in the conference. 

The team will continue to work hard each week to improve on the things they need to do, to start winning close games, according to Smelkinson.

"We continue to make strides and get better, I expect us to bounce back and to close out the regular season on a good note," he said.

HCC (8-10) has another tough contest against the College of Southern Maryland (12-7) at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday at HCC.