This is the second part of a seven part series listing the top 50 Baltimore Catholic League teams of all-time, in the mind of the author. The second edition looks at #31-40.
31 ‘02 Spalding Cavaliers (29-7) > Coach Mike Glick > #4 in the Sun, BCL regular season and tournament champions, MIAA regular season and tournament champions, Alhambra 6th 1-2
Players
Landy Thompson 6’1 SR; All-Met 1st, All-BCL 2nd, BCL Tournament MVP, 14.4p/3.3a (Mt St Marys)
Will Bowers 6’11 JR; All-Met 2nd, All-BCL 1st, All-BCL Tournament, All-ACIT 1st, 12.2p/6.2r (Maryland)
Cory Hudson 6’4 SR; All-BCL 3rd (Cecil CC / Southern Connecticut State)
Jesse Brooks 5’10 SO; All-BCL Tournament (Maryland Eastern Shore)
Gus Durr 6’6 JR; (Mt St Marys)
As Mike Glick’s second season concluded in ‘00-01, after sharing the BCL regular season crown with St Maria Goretti, the forecast looked bright for his third year in Severn for the ‘01-02 season.
He had 6’11 rising junior Will Bowers returning, an All-BCL second team selection as a sophomore, teamed with 6’5 Corey Hudson, an all-league honorable mention selection as a junior, and 6’6 junior Gus Durr, giving he and the Cavaliers a talented trio in the frontcourt. Glick had rising sophomore Jesse Brooks in the backcourt, and all he needed was that senior leader to team with Brooks in the backcourt.
Enter Landy Thompson, a 6’1 senior transfer from Newport Prep – after its closing, a very talented all-around guard who could provide much needed senior leadership.
The Cavaliers won back-to-back BCL tournament championships in ‘99 and ‘00, and their 33-9 record in league play over the last three seasons (‘98-99 through ‘00-01) tied Towson Catholic as the league best over that time going into the ‘01-02 season.
Things wouldn’t be easy, with St Maria Goretti returning two of the top five or six BCL returnees in Matt Tanner and Derrick Davis, and Calvert Hall boasting Dwayne Birden, Gary Neal, and Pierre Jones. Towson Catholic had Darnell Hopkins returning, after an All-BCL second team selection as a junior, along with rising junior Matt Stevenson and rising sophomore Jamel Smith, but it’s what the Owls didn’t have in ‘01-02 that gave their opponents a sigh of relief.
Carmelo Anthony, an All-BCL first team selection as a junior, and one of the most highly recruited high school players in the nation, moved on to Mouth of Wilson, Virginia, to play his senior season for national juggernaut Oak Hill. Glick and the Cavaliers could mellow a bit without ‘Melo’ in the mix.
The Cavaliers had a rough beginning, after getting routed in their opener by St Johns DC, 64-37, then needing overtime to put away a game Catonsville squad, 49-45. The Cavaliers regrouped and put together an impressive 55-42 win over National Christian, using a strong third quarter to find separation from a 19-16 halftime lead. Bowers scored a team-high 18 points. The Eagles were ranked #3 in Maryland by the AP.
The Cavaliers followed that up with a 60-43 win over Aberdeen, in the Towson Catholic Tip-Off, following a dominating second half performance that saw the Cavs push a four point halftime edge into an insurmountable 20 point fourth quarter lead. Thompson led the way with 16 points, while Bowers added 14 points and eight rebounds.
Next up was the defending state champion Dunbar Poets at the ‘Eastside Gardens’, and the Cavaliers left an imprint in the storied gymnasium, closing with a 27-12 fourth quarter run to turn a two point lead into a 79-62 win over the Poets. Thompson scored 19 of his 32 points in the fourth quarter, shooting 7-9 from the field, including three three-pointers.
Hudson added 11 points and 11 rebounds, and Bowers added 10 points and nine rebounds before fouling out. Durr was the second leading scorer for the Cavs, with 13 points, adding six rebounds. It was the first home loss for the Poets in three years.
The Cavaliers ran off three more wins before Christmas break, including a 30 point win over Westlake, a 20 point win over BCL contender St Maria Goretti, and a 28 point win over Eleanor Roosevelt. Thompson scored a team-high 18 points in the win over Westlake, and a team-high 17 points in the win over Roosevelt.
Roosevelt was a defending 4A state finalist, while Westlake was a defending 3A state semifinalist. In the key league win over St Maria Goretti, the Cavs used a 43-18 second half to turn a five point halftime deficit into a 20 point win.
The Cavaliers traveled to Delaware for the always tough Slam Dunk To The Beach tournament over the holidays, and came home with two wins and a loss, their second of the season, and first since the season opener. The Cavs lost to Bullis, the #7 team in the Washington Post, 56-45, on day one, before knocking off the #25 team in the country, Tabor Academy MA, and their star forward, Torin Francis, 54-48.
Bowers outdueled the Notre Dame commit, scoring 19 points and grabbing eight rebounds. The Cavs never trailed. The Cavaliers annihilated Troy OH, 77-39, on day three, with Thompson scoring a game-high 23 points, and Bowers adding 14 points.
The Cavs began the new year with two victories, before losing a wild, 57-43, overtime game to McDonogh. The Cavs were outscored 14-0 in the extra frame.
The Cavaliers won their next five games, including a 67-61 win over Mt St Joe, and punctuated by a 49-46 win over then league leader Calvert Hall, who came into the game 6-0 in league play. The Cavaliers led by nine points at halftime, 24-15, and held off a late Cards rally. Brooks, the sophomore, hit two free throws with seven seconds left to push the Cavs margin to three, before the Cards final three-point attempt to tie rattled out. Brooks led the Cavs with 11 points. The Cavs moved to 7-1 in league play, a half game ahead of the 6-1 Cards.
That edge was short lived, as the Cavaliers were turned back by St Maria Goretti, 47-45, evening the two game series between the Cavs and Gaels, and dropping the Cavs one game behind the Cards in the loss column. The Cavaliers headed into February with an overall 18-4 record, and very much in contention for a BCL regular season crown, considering they had another date with the Cards.
The Cavs won their first five games in February, before losing to Mt St Joe, 71-62, knocking them one-half game behind Calvert Hall, after the Cardinals had dropped two league games. Thompson finished with 24 points in the loss.
The Cavaliers responded strong with a 70-50 win over the first place Cards, taking control of their destiny, and clinched a regular season championship with a win over Cardinal Gibbons in the finale. In the win over the Cardinals, Thompson led the Cavs with 22 points, while Bowers added 15 points and 10 rebounds. The Cavaliers needed overtime to top Gibbons, 86-79, to clinch their third straight BCL regular season title, shared or outright.
In 2000, the Cavs shared the regular season crown with Towson Catholic, then shared the title with Goretti in ‘01. This was the first outright regular season title for the Cavs, who finished two games ahead of both Goretti and Calvert Hall.
The Cavaliers drew Loyola in the league quarterfinals, and they had little trouble with the Dons, running out to a 30-14 halftime lead, before finishing with a 67-44 victory. Bowers led all scorers with 18 points.
With their 61-47 win over Mt St Joe in the semifinal, the Cavaliers claimed the MIAA A championship, with BCL-only member St Maria Goretti awaiting in the BCL championship game.
The BCL and MIAA A played combined tournaments in ‘02 and ‘03, with McDonogh joining the eight BCL teams, creating a play-in game between the eight and nine seed based on the combined BCL/MIAA A standings.
Like they did with St Joe, the Cavaliers took the rubber match with Goretti when it counted, winning 45-36, and winning their third BCL championship in four seasons. The Cavaliers suffocating defense stymied the Gaels and limited Matt Tanner and Derrick Davis, Goretti’s top two scorers, to a combined 15 points. Bowers and Hudson each scored 10 points for the Cavs, and Thompson added nine points.
Thompson was named as the Most Outstanding Player of the tournament. Bowers and Brooks joined Thompson on the all-tournament team.
The Cavaliers headed to the Alhambra Invitational Tournament with a 28-5 record, with a day one matchup with Gonzaga DC. The Eagles handled the Cavs, 60-38, sliding the BCL champs to the consolation bracket. The Cavaliers rebounded just as they did in their first five losses, with a win, a hard fought 52-49 victory over Judge Memorial UT, with Thompson scoring 20 points, grabbing nine rebounds, and dishing out three assists.
The Cavs fell to a tough Roanoke Catholic team led by Virginia-bound JR Reynolds, 75-70, on day three, finishing with a 29-7 record. Thompson scored 14 points, grabbed eight rebounds, and dished out five assists in the loss. Thompson also helped hold Reynolds to just two field goals. Thompson was named to the all-tournament second team.
Coach Glick had captured his second BCL regular season and tournament championship sweep in three years. With a title in Tony Martin’s last year, in ‘99, the Cavs had won three BCL tournament titles in four seasons. On the season, the Cavaliers posted ten wins over opponents that won 22 games or more.
Thompson was named to both the Sun’s All-Met first team, and the All-BCL second team. Thompson proved to be the leader Glick needed for this team to get over the top, and averaged 14.4 points and 3.3 assists per game. Bowers was named to the All-Met second team and the All-BCL 1st team. Bowers averaged 12.2 points and six rebounds per game.
Notes;
- Thompson started at guard for all four seasons at Mt St Mary’s, leading the Mountaineers in scoring all four seasons, and leading the team in assists in two seasons. Thompson played in Hall of Fame Coach Jim Phelan’s final season, and Milan Brown’s first three seasons. As a freshman, Thompson averaged 15.6 points, 4.3 rebounds, 2.6 assists, and 1.6 steals per game. As a sophomore, Thompson averaged 17.7 points, 3.7 rebounds, 2.9 assists, and 1.4 steals per game. Thompson finished his Mountaineers career producing 1,733 points, 402 rebounds, 322 assists, and 153 steals. Thompson led ‘the Mount’ in three-pointers made in all four of his seasons, and finished with 267 for his career. As of ‘22, Thompson ranks 9th on the Mountaineers all-time scoring list.
- Bowers played four years at Maryland under Gary Williams, serving in a backup center role. Bowers played in 116 games, and scored 242 points and grabbed 206 rebounds. Bowers played in 97 of the Terrapins 98 games over his last three seasons, and averaged 10-12.5 minutes per game in each of those three seasons, including his senior season, when the Terps finished 25-9.
- Hudson played his first two years at Cecil Community College, including the last two seasons of a four season span where the Seahawks carried a national #1 ranking at some point in each of those four seasons.
- Durr played four years at Mt St Mary’s, with Thompson, playing in 105 games, and starting in 34. As a junior, Durr averaged 6.6 points per game, before starting in 21 of his 26 games in his senior season and averaging 8.4 points and 3.8 rebounds per game.
32 ‘13 Mt St Joseph Gaels (31-8) Coach Pat Clatchey > #3 in the Sun, BCL tournament champions, MIAA tournament runner-up, Gonzaga Classic champions, Alhambra 6th 1-2
Players
Kameron Williams 6’1 SR; All-Met 1st (3-time), All-BCL 1st, All-BCL Tournament, All-ACIT 1st, 21.0/3.1r/2.1a (Ohio State)
Phil Booth 6’3 JR; All-Met 1st, All-BCL 1st, BCL DPOY, BCL Tournament MVP, All-ACIT 2nd, 15.2p/6.8r/5.6a (Villanova)
Charlie Jones 6’4 SR; All-BCL HM (American)
Jordan McNeil 6’5 JR; (Towson)
Jaylen Adams 5’11 JR; (St Bonaventure, NBA)
Kyle Doran 6’6 JR; (Johns Hopkins)
The ‘12-13 Gaels were coming off of a BCL regular season and tournament championship sweep, winning their first BCL tournament championship in six seasons. Coach Pat Clatchey’s ‘12-13 Gaels would be loaded with talent, but St Frances, who finished second in the league standings a year before, had a stockpile of talent too, with Tevon Saddler and Maurice White headlining, as did John Carroll, led by Rodney Elliott.
Clatchey’s Gaels won three BCL tournament titles in four seasons from ‘02-03 through ‘05-06, but hadn’t claimed gold since ‘06, until junior Kameron Williams and sophomore Phil Booth Jr led the Gaels to the ‘BCL sweep’ in ‘11-12.
Williams would be entering his senior season as the reigning BCL Player of the Year, while Booth joined him on the ‘11-12 first team as a sophomore, the only two non-seniors of the six players on the first team. The two Gaels stars would be surrounded by talent, including 6’4 senior forward Charlie Jones, 6’5 junior Jordan McNeil, junior point guard Chase Adams, and 6’6 forward Kyle Doran.
In addition to Saddler and White, St Frances would feature 6’7 junior Dwayne Morgan, who was emerging as one of the top recruits in the country, senior Dayshawn Wells, two of the best guards in the area in their respective classes in sophomore Kurk Lee Jr and freshman Khalil Richard, along with 6’7 sophomore Joshua Ayeni.
Spalding returned senior Elijah Potts Jr, who was selected to the All-BCL second team as a junior, while Goretti would be led by the talented 6’9 junior Martinas Geben. The Owona brothers, seniors Christian and Mike, and junior Lionel, along with fellow junior Jordan Martin, and sophomores Kimbal MacKenzie and Elijah Long, would join Elliott on John Carroll.
The Gaels would face a tough slate outside their brutal league schedule, competing in the Gonzaga’s DC Classic in early December, going to Goretti and Spalding in early league matchups, then heading to the ‘Palmetto State’ over the holidays to take part in the Piggly Wiggly Roundball Classic in Charleston, South Carolina.
The Gaels took their first loss before December even began, losing to a talented Pallotti team, 79-73. A week later, the Gaels registered a quality win with a 67-58 win over St Maria Goretti in Hagerstown.
Then came the Gonzaga Classic, where the Gaels would be crowned tournament champions, racking up wins versus Carroll DC and Bullis in the quarter and semifinals, then knocking off Sidwell Friends (who beat Germantown Academy PA and host Gonzaga DC to get to the final), 59-55, in the final, overcoming 37 points from the Quakers’ Josh Hart. Booth led the Gaels with 15 points.
Two days later, the Gaels took their first BCL loss, losing at Spalding, 81-71. The Gaels then won four straight games, including three league victories as they headed into the Christmas break at 11-2.
The Gaels went to Charleston and took all three games at the Rotary Roundball Classic, aka ‘The Piggly Wiggly’, mauling Stratford SC, 90-51, in the quarterfinals, then handling Charleston’s own 7-1 Porter-Gaud, 66-50, before their crown-winning 77-57 victory over Charlotte Christian NC in the final. Charlie Jones scored 22 points in both the semifinal and championship games, and was voted as the tournament MVP, while Booth added 18 points and Williams added 16 points in the final.
The #2 Gaels came into their January 2nd matchup with #1 St Frances with a 14-2 record and two tournament titles under their belt. While the Gaels had the loss to Spalding, the Panthers came in 5-0 in league play. The Panthers led at half, 29-24, and grew their advantage to nine points, before the Gaels went on a 22-4 run in the third quarter to turn that nine point deficit into a nine point lead in the final minute of the third quarter.
The Panthers cut the Gaels lead to six after three quarters, and finally took the lead on a three-pointer by White, to go up, 56-53, with 1:04 to play. After two free throws by Booth, a bucket by St Frances, and two free throws by Williams, the Gaels were down one, 58-57, with seven seconds to play in regulation. The Gaels had a desperation game-winning attempt after the Panthers missed the front end of a ‘one-and-one’, but Williams rushed shot was too long.
The Gaels put together a four game win streak between their first and second meetings with the Panthers, including three quality wins over 13-5 John Carroll (76-67), 10-1 Poly (76-73), and 11-6 St Maria Goretti (65-55). The Gaels used a 16-0 run to put away the Patriots in a rematch of the ‘12 MIAA A final, sparked by Williams, who poured in 26 points. Williams scored 20 points, and Booth added 16 points in the win over Goretti.
The Gaels hosted St Frances in Irvington in their second league meeting, after losing at St Frances by one in the first meeting – after blowing a nine point lead. This one wasn’t close, as the Panthers used a 10-2 run to begin the second half to stretch a six point halftime lead into a 14 point margin, and the Panthers never looked back in a 61-48 win. Williams scored 21 points in the loss.
The Panthers rose to 21-1 overall and 9-0 in BCL play, while the Gaels fell to 18-4 and 6-3 in league play.
The Gaels came back two days later and took a 22 point win over second place Spalding, 67-45, after building a 42-19 halftime lead. Adams led the Gaels with 14 points, while Williams and Booth supplied 13 points apiece.
The Gaels lost to a tough Vaux team from ‘Philly’, 66-63, but closed the regular season with seven straight wins, including a second win over John Carroll. The Gaels drained five three-pointers in the first quarter to give themselves an early advantage over the Patriots, and Williams scored 17 of his 35 points in the fourth quarter to put the Pats away. Williams nailed 13 of 14 free throw attempts, and the Gaels converted 28 of 32 as a team.
The Gaels finished second in BCL play, at 11-3, two games behind the Panthers, and two games ahead of third place John Carroll.
The Gaels faced a 19 win Spalding club in the MIAA A semifinals, after splitting the two-game league series in the regular season, with the Cavs taking the first on their home court in mid-December, 81-71, and the Gaels holding court in Irvington in mid-January, 67-45.
The Gaels took the rubber match, 75-58, taking a seven point halftime lead and building that into a twenty point lead after three quarters, making the outcome all but academic. Williams scored 19 points, while Booth added 15 points.
The Gaels would face the #1 Panthers a third time, and a second time in the MIAA A final, with St Frances coming out on top in 2010, 63-56. This wasn’t close, as the Panthers built a 24-8 lead in the first quarter, and a 35-19 lead at halftime, and coasted to a 75-62 win. Williams scored a team-high 22 points, but 13 came in the fourth quarter with the game already decided.
Now, the Gaels had their BCL title to defend, and were looking for their first back-to-back BCL tournament titles since ‘04, which followed their very first tournament crown in ‘03. The Gaels throttled Loyola in the quarterfinals, 79-48, and faced 26 win John Carroll a third time in the semifinals.
St Frances, meanwhile, was shocked by eight seed Mt Carmel, 59-50, on opening night of the BCL playoffs and were eliminated.
The Gaels posted 9 and 11 point wins over John Carroll in league play, and this was much of the same, with the Gaels taking a 62-53 victory over the Patriots. Freshman Daveyon Barnes hit a bucket as the shot clock was expiring, to push the Gaels lead to 50-44, with 3:35 to play. Booth and Adams hit 12 of 14 free throws down the stretch to seal it. Booth led the Gaels with 16 points, and Clatchey notched his 500th victory.
That set up a fourth meeting with Spalding and their senior leader, Elijah Potts, in the final. Like the second and third affairs, the Gaels cruised, defending their BCL title with a 73-56 victory. Since their first 81-71 loss to the Cavaliers in the season’s second week, the Gaels boasted a 22 point win, a 17 point win, and another 17 point win over the BCL tournament runner-up. Jones led four Gaels’ double-digit scorers with 17 points. The Gaels used a 13-0 run to close the first half and turned a six point deficit into a seven point lead. The Gaels won their fifth BCL tournament title.
Booth was named the tournament’s Most Valuable Player, and Williams joined the junior on the all-tournament first team.
The Gaels won just one of three games at the Alhambra Catholic Invitational, though that one was a 80-68 victory over DeMatha. On day one, the Gaels lost to WCAC power Bishop O’Connell by two, 70-68, and lost a fourth time to St Frances on day three – and the second time by one point to the Panthers, 66-65. Williams scored 23 points, and Booth added 15 points in the loss to O’Connell. Williams scored a game-high 26 points in the win over DeMatha.
Both of the Gaels losses in Cumberland came down to the final play. Williams was named to the all-tournament first team, and Booth was named to the all-tournament second team.
The Gaels finished with a 31-8 record, and they and Clatchey won their fifth BCL tournament title. Fifth in 11 seasons. The Gaels won two tournaments, in DC and Charleston, and won quality out-of-conference contests with Bullis, Sidwell Friends, Poly, and DeMatha.
Williams was selected to the Sun’s All-Met first team for a third time, as well as the All-BCL first team for a third time. The Ohio State commit averaged 21 points, 3.1 rebounds, and 2.1 assists per game.
Booth, a junior, was named to the All-Met first team, the All-BCL first team a second time, and was named the BCL Defensive Player of the Year. Booth averaged 15.2 points, 6.8 rebounds, and 5.6 assists per game. Jones was named to the All-BCL honorable mention team.
Notes;
- Williams played four seasons at Ohio State, the first three under Thad Matta. Williams played in a reserve role in his first two seasons in Columbus, playing in two NCAA tournament games in his freshman season. Williams started in 29 of 32 games in his junior season, averaging 9.4 points per game, hitting 34 of his 37 free throw attempts (91.9%). As a senior, Williams averaged 9.0 points per game, and more than doubled that average in the Buckeyes two NCAA tournament games that season. In the opening round win over South Dakota State, Williams scored 22 points, grabbed five rebounds and three steals, and added two assists. In the Buckeyes second round 90-84 loss to Gonzaga, Williams scored 19 points and dished out three assists. In the two tournament games, Williams shot 16-30 (53.3%) from the field, 5-10 from beyond the arc, and 4-4 from the line. In four seasons, Williams scored 1057 points as a Buckeye, and made 101 of 115 free throw attempts (87.8%).
- Jones played four seasons at American University, starting in the 66 of the 120 games he played in. As a sophomore, starting in 31 of 33 games, Jones averaged 8.0 points and 3.7 rebounds per game. In four seasons, Jones scored 662 points, grabbed 453 rebounds, supplied 199 assists, and took 124 steals. Jones shot 50.7% from the floor over his four seasons.
- McNeil played four seasons at Towson, starting in 29 of 125 games. McNeil started in 22 of 29 games in his senior season, averaging 6.6 points per game. McNeil scored 558 points at Towson.
- Doran played four seasons at Johns Hopkins and was named to the All-Centennial Conference 1st team during his senior season, averaging 13.5 points and 6.8 rebounds per game. Doran scored 865 points for the Blue Jays.
33 ‘75 Loyola Dons (29-5) Coach Jerry Savage > #3 in the Sun, BCL regular season and tournament champions, Maryland High School Tournament champions, Alhambra 3rd 2-1
Players
Robbie O’Conor 6’1 SR; All-Met 1st, All-BCL 1st, All-BCL Tournament,All-ACIT 2nd, 19.4p/5.5a (Penn State)
Pete Budko 6’8 SO; All-BCL HM, All-BCL Tournament, All-ACIT 2nd (North Carolina)
Mark Clark 6’5 SR; All-BCL 1st (UMBC)
Brian Shannon 6’7 SR; (Bucknell)
Bob Barry 6’5 JR; (Bucknell)
Brian Plunkett 6’1 JR; (Loyola MD)
Coach Jerry Savage’s ‘74-75 Loyola Dons were projected to rebound from a lackluster 16-12 campaign, then two years removed from a BCL championship in the league’s first year of existence. For one, the talent was there. Two, the size was there. Three, the younger players were raising their games exponentially, and fully able to compliment the core of three seniors.
Robbie O’Conor, a 6’1 senior guard, who was one of three non-seniors to be selected to the All-BCL first team in ‘74, would lead the Dons. Two fellow seniors, 6’5 Mark Clark and 6’7 Brian Shannon, would provide talent, size, and senior leadership. Pete Budko, a highly heralded 6’8 sophomore, was a budding star, and 6’5 junior Bob Barry and 6’1 junior Brian Plunkett were both next-level talents. Together, they gave Savage the most talented team he had to that point.
While the Dons had a stockpile of talent, Cardinal Gibbons, the defending BCL champions, had to be considered the favorite following their 26-4 season in ‘73-74. Coach Ray Mullis’ Crusaders were returning two of the top three rising seniors in the league in 6’4 Norman Black and 6’6 Robert Vanderas, in addition to guard Mark Massissini.
While O’Conor was one of three juniors selected to the ‘73-74 All-BCL first team, Black and Vanderas were the other two. The BCL’s fourth season projected to be a battle, with the Dons, Crusaders, and Towson Catholic, who featured a pair of D1 recruits in 6’10 senior center Larry Harrison and 6’8 senior forward Alvin Hubbard. The league began to take shape as a ‘power conference’.
The Dons rolled through December unbeaten, going 9-0, punctuated by winning the Maryland High School Tournament championship over the holidays. The Dons began the season with a strong 75-68 win over St John’s DC, controlling throughout, after holding double-digit leads over the Cadets at intermission and after three quarters. O’Conor scored a game-high 29 points, and Budko added 14 rebounds.
The Dons followed that quality win with routs of Dundalk, Andover, and Dulaney, regional county contenders, and convincing wins over Southern and Northwestern. The Dons closed the month with three wins in four days to capture the inaugural Maryland High School Tournament championship.
The Dons began the holiday stretch with a 106-55 trouncing of Gilman on day one of the tournament, with O’Conor leading the way with 22 points. The Dons followed that win with a 70-41 thumping of Northern, taking a 33-11 halftime lead, and finishing with ten Dons scoring.
In the final, the Dons put away league foe Mt St Joe, 74-63, to move to 9-0. O’Conor poured in 31 points, shooting 11 of 18 from the field, and nine of ten from the line, while adding seven rebounds and seven assists.
The Dons began January winning two games in West Virginia, before coming back to start league play. After capturing two more victories, the Dons faced six-time state champion Montgomery Blair, before bowing to the Blazers in overtime, 82-77, after three Dons fouled out in the fourth quarter, including the team’s high-scorer O’Conor, who finished with 25 points. Blair’s Brian Magid, a Maryland commit, poured in 36 points for the Blazers. The game’s margin was one point after one quarter, tied at halftime, and one point after three quarters.
The #1 Dons then ripped off four straight wins, including a 69-66 win over #8 Parkville, leading into their first meeting with #2 Cardinal Gibbons, who, like the Dons, came into the showdown with a record of 17-1.
The Dons held a one point lead over the Crusaders after a quarter, and a three point lead at halftime. The Crusaders shaved a point off of their deficit in the third quarter, and took the lead, 54-52, on Black’s turnaround jumper with 6:28 to play. O’Conor countered with six straight points and the Crusaders never regained the lead in a 67-59 Dons win. Clark scored a team-high 20 points, while the sophomore Budko provided 15 points and 12 rebounds, and O’Conor added 14 points.
Towson Catholic followed, and the Owls handed the Dons their first league loss, 61-57, using a 22-12 second quarter to break open a tie game into a ten point halftime lead, from which the Dons never recovered. The Dons rebounded with a 51-40 win over #10 Mt St Joe, with O’Conor scoring 17 points, and Budko adding 16 points and 11 rebounds.
The Dons suffered their second league loss in their second meeting with Cardinal Gibbons, 59-50, leaving the two in a tie in the league standings with two games to play, and Towson Catholic, who still had a second date with the Dons, sitting a game back. After a win over Calvert Hall, the Dons fell to Towson Catholic again, 43-41, forcing a three-way tie atop the league standings between the Dons, Owls, and Crusaders.
A two-game playoff to determine the regular season champion would ensue, with the winner of the Dons-Cardinal Gibbons playoff game meeting Towson Catholic for the regular season crown. The Dons took the rubber match with the Crusaders rather easily, using an 18-4 third quarter to take a 22 point lead into the fourth quarter.
O’Conor was phenomenal, pouring in 38 points in the 75-58 win, draining 13 of 18 shots from the field, and nailing all 12 of his foul shots. The Dons shot 62% from the field. That set up a rubber match with Towson Catholic, with the regular season championship on the line, as well as the one seed in the BCL tournament.
Playing before 1,800 at Calvert Hall, the Dons had to climb back from a 13 point first quarter deficit to the Owls to force overtime, then another, before pulling out a 58-56 double-overtime victory, and notch their second BCL regular season title in four years. The Dons trailed by nine points at halftime, before tying the game at 47 and forcing overtime.
Plunkett’s jumper with 39 seconds left in the second overtime would prove to be the game-winner. An Owls attempt with 22 seconds remaining missed, and O’Conor hit one of two free throws for the final margin. O’Conor scored 23 points, grabbed five rebounds, and dished out five assists. Budko added 16 points and eight rebounds.
After drawing a first round bye in the playoffs, the Dons beat Calvert Hall, 60-54, in the BCL semifinals, with O’Conor leading the way with 20 points, before 2,000 at Essex Community College. The Dons led by nine, 43-34, heading into the fourth quarter, before the Cardinals rallied to cut their deficit to four points twice, but never came closer.
The Dons dominated Cardinal Gibbons in the BCL final, taking an 18-8 lead after the first stanza, then a 36-16 halftime lead, and settling on a 60-54 score that didn’t represent the Dons dominance. The Dons led by 18 points heading into the fourth quarter, before the Crusaders scraped back to cut the final margin to six points. O’Conor scored a game-high 21 points and was named to the all-tournament team, joining Budko, who scored 16 points and hauled in 18 rebounds. Clark added 13 points.
The Dons took third place at the Alhambra Catholic Invitational tournament, beating host Bishop Walsh, 80-66, in the opening round, before losing to nationally ranked Roman Catholic PA, 37-35, in the semifinals, then beating Cardinal Gibbons a fourth time, 86-78, for third place. Both O’Conor and Budko were selected to the all-tournament second team.
The ‘75-76 Dons finished 29-5, setting a BCL record with 29 overall wins, surpassing the Crusaders mark of 26 set in ‘74. This was the best team Jerry Savage ever had at Loyola, and beat one of the best private school teams this area has ever seen in the ‘75 Crusaders, four times.
The Dons beat Towson Catholic when it mattered, and conquered the Owls and Crusaders a total of three times in league post-season play, for both the regular season and tournament championships. The Dons won the inaugural Maryland High School Tournament over the holidays, and took third place at Alhambra.
Of the Dons five losses, three came between the Crusaders and Owls, another came in overtime to eventual state champion Blair, and the last was a two point loss to nationally ranked Roman Catholic.
O’Conor was named to both the All-Met first team and the All-BCL first team, after averaging 19.4 points and 5.5 assists per game. Clark joined O’Conor on the All-BCL first team, averaging 12 points per game.
Budko finished an outstanding sophomore season averaging 13 points and 12 rebounds per game, and was selected to the all-league honorable mention team.
Coach Savage guided the Dons to their second league championship in four years.
Notes;
- Savage coached 35 seasons at Loyola, including their first 32 seasons in the BCL. Savage won five BCL tournament titles, five BCL regular season crowns, and finished with a 607-457 record. Savage helped establish the BCL and its tournament, welcomed newcomers like St Maria Goretti, St Frances, and Spalding, helped establish the BCL Hall of Fame, and did the official scorebook at the BCL semifinals and finals after his retirement in 2003, up until suffering a stroke the day after the 2015 semifinals. As of ‘22, Savage ranks second in BCL history in games coached, in both regular season (380) and tournament (62) games, and also ranks second in both in wins, with 190 and 34, respectively.
- O’Conor played parts of three seasons at Penn State, beset by injuries. O’Conor’s best season was his sophomore year, averaging 8.4 points, 3.4 assists, 2.7 rebounds, and 1.5 steals per game.
- Clark was a part of the UMBC Retrievers’ Division II South Atlantic regional championship team in ‘78-79.
34 ‘22 Mt St Joseph Gaels (32-7) Coach Pat Clatchey > #1 in the Sun, BCL tournament champions, regular season runner-up, Benedictine Classic tournament champions, Alhambra 6th 1-2
Players
Amani Hansberry 6’8 JR; Sun POY, All-BCL 1st, BCL Tournament MVP, Alhambra MOP, 20.3p/13.6r/4.3a
Bryson Tucker 6’7 SO; All-Met 1st, All-BCL 1st, All-BCL Tournament, 22.3p/5.2r/2.8a
Ace Valentine 6’2 JR; All-Met 2nd, All-BCL Tournament
Austin Abrams 6’3 JR
Aiden Mess 6’7 SR
It had been five seasons since the Gaels last won a BCL tournament title as they entered the ‘21-22 season, and five years since they won a regular season crown. St Frances won three straight tournament championships between the ‘17-18 season and the ‘19-20 seasons, and four straight regular season crowns, while John Carroll topped the Panthers in overtime to win the ‘21 tournament, in the Covid-abbreviated season. John Carroll, the six seed, had bounced the Gaels in the quarterfinals.
Still, the Panthers had established themselves as the top program in the BCL, ever since the Gaels won their fourth tournament title in six seasons in ‘17. Aside from the Panthers, Spalding, John Carroll, and Mount Carmel would be contenders in ‘21-22, with all three of the league foes each boasting one of the best five returnees in the league.
The Gaels would be young, with only one senior among their top six players. Amani Hansberry, a highly touted 6’8 junior transfer from St Johns DC, would team with 6’6 sophomore Bryson Tucker in leading the Gaels. Tucker averaged 17 points and six rebounds per game as a freshman. In the summer, Tucker won a gold medal with the US U16 team at the FIBA Americas Championship in Mexico.
To add, Coach Pat Clatchey had a pair of very capable junior guards in Austin Abrams and Ace Valentine, to go with 6’7 Aiden Hess, who would provide senior leadership, and allow Hansberry and Tucker to move around.
St Frances featured Poly transfer Bryce Lindsay, high D1 ‘23 prospect Carlton Carrington, and ‘super soph’ Daquan Davis. John Carroll boasted 6’3 senior guard Tyson Commander, a All-BCL first team selection as a sophomore, and 6’4 junior Jeannot Basima, while Spalding had the 2021 BCL Player of the Year returning in 6’6 Cam Whitmore, and Mt Carmel returned Deon Perry, an All-BCL selection as a sophomore in ‘20, and a first team selection as a junior in ‘21.
The Gaels began the season with eight straight wins, including a 30 point rout of the MIAA B’s best team in St Mary’s, and capped off with an impressive 71-50 win over John Carroll. Hansberry led the Gaels with 19 points in the win over the Patriots, scoring 15 points in the first half, leading to a 39-23 cushion at intermission.
It was the third straight game the Gaels were without Tucker, who was out with a hip injury.
Tucker returned to take on the #15 nationally ranked team in the country, Imhotep Charter PA, but the Gaels suffered their first loss of the season, 82-66. The Panthers closed the third quarter with a 14-3 run to break open a tie game into a double-digit lead after three quarters. Hansberry scored 21 points in the loss.
Next, was the first meeting between the #2 Gaels and the #1 St Frances Panthers, on Eager Street. The Gaels took their first league loss, 72-67, as the Panthers shot 53% from the field. Tucker scored 22 points in the loss, while Hansberry added 19 points.
The Gaels regrouped and won the Benedictine Classic in Virginia over the holidays, knocking off Philly’s Archbishop Ryan, 62-60, in the semifinals, on Ace Valentine’s game-winning three-pointer. The Gaels easily handled Charlottesville’s St Anne’s-Belfield, 76-54, in the final, with Tucker scoring a game-high 25 points, and Hansberry supplying 19 points and 15 rebounds. Hansberry was named the tournament MVP.
The Gaels began the new year by suffering their second league loss, then won two, then suffered their third league loss. Their first defeat of the new year came to Perry and Mount Carmel, 65-56, with the Cougars star supplying 18 points and six assists. The Cougars had built a ten point halftime lead, and the Gaels never got closer than a four point margin the rest of the way.
After a win over McDonogh, then a second win over John Carroll, the Gaels fell to St Maria Goretti, 72-56, in Hagerstown, to fall to 12-4.
Then, the Gaels reeled off a seven game win streak leading up to their second matchup with St Frances. All seven wins were double-digit margins, with a +19.3 point differential. Among the seven wins was a 84-68 revenge victory over #3 Mount Carmel. The Gaels outscored the Cougars 28-14 in the third quarter, extending a 38-33 lead at intermission into a commanding 66-47 lead after three quarters. Hansberry and Tucker scored 22 points apiece, and Valentine added 14 points.
Next was St Frances. The Panthers came into Smith Center at Mt St Joe and controlled the game, taking a nine point halftime lead, and building that into a 14 point lead after three quarters, before coasting to a 66-60 win. The #1 Panthers held a nine point lead at intermission, one that grew to 14, before the #4 Gaels made one last charge that cut their deficit to four, 64-60, but committed two turnovers on back-to-back possessions to seal their fate. Hansberry scored 19 points in the loss, while Tucker and Abrams added 14 points each.
The Gaels closed the season with five straight wins, including a 79-63 victory over Spalding, finishing second in league play behind St Frances, and headed into the post-season with a 25-5 record. Hansberry led the Gaels with 22 points, while Tucker added 16 points.
The Gaels began their pursuit for what would be a league-best sixth MIAA A tournament championship with a 73-36 annihilation of Calvert Hall in the quarterfinals, followed by a third win over Spalding in the semifinals, 68-60, with Tucker scoring a game-high 29 points, and Hansberry adding 21 points. In the semifinal, Tucker’s three-pointer with just under two minutes to play pushed the Gaels lead from two to five points, and the Cavs never got closer.
Meanwhile, eight seed Gilman had shocked top seed St Frances, 70-69, in the quarterfinals, coming back from a 21 point halftime deficit. The Gaels would face Mount Carmel and Perry in the finals, who crushed Gilman in the semifinals.
The Gaels held off the Cougars, 63-60, to defend their MIAA A (last played in ‘20) title. The Gaels led throughout most of the game, but within a manageable margin for the Cougars. Trailing by four points heading into the fourth quarter, the Cougars took their first lead of the second half, 60-59, with 48 seconds to play. The Gaels would find Hansberry inside to give them the go-ahead bucket with 23 seconds remaining in regulation time. After a defensive stop, Valentine added a layup to provide insurance. Tucker and Valentine shared team-high scoring honors with 20 points apiece, and Hansberry added 15 points and eight rebounds. Clatchey won his 750th game.
Now, the Gaels had momentum in their quest for their first BCL tournament title in five seasons, whether St Frances lie in their way or not. The Gaels survived and advanced in the quarterfinal round – literally, pulling out a 68-66 overtime win over seven seed Loyola. Hansberry scored a game-high 24 points.
John Carroll, with Commander and Basima, awaited in the semifinals, and the Gaels handled the Patriots a third time, 70-63, to advance to the BCL championship game for the 14th time in 20 seasons, and 8th time in 11 seasons. The Gaels trailed the Pats by five points at halftime, but took the lead for good midway through the third quarter and held on. Hansberry scored a game-high 25 points and grabbed a game-high 15 rebounds, while Tucker scored 14 of his 22 points in the Gaels crucial second half run.
The Gaels would get a third shot at the 33-6 Panthers in the final, who dispatched Spalding in the semifinals, 75-54. Round three would be all Gaels, after building a 15 point second quarter lead, and a 12 point halftime lead, before taking a 66-56 title game victory.
The Panthers cut the margin to five points twice in the fourth quarter, and four once, but never closer. Hansberry scored 12 points and grabbed 22 rebounds, before being named the tournament’s Most Valuable Player. Tucker scored 20 of his game-high 22 points after intermission.
Tucker and Valentine joined Hansberry on the all-tournament team. Clatchey won his 8th BCL tournament title, more than any other coach in BCL history.
The Gaels lost on day one at the Alhambra Catholic Invitational Tournament to WCAC champion Paul VI, 56-52, in a slugfest in Frostburg. Tucker had the Gaels within one, 53-52, with 27 seconds to play, but they didn’t score again after the Panthers knocked down both free throws on a one-and-one. Tucker scored a game-high 27 points.
The Gaels needed two overtimes to put away Gonzaga DC, 89-82, on day two, coming back from six points down with less than two minutes left in regulation. The Gaels survived a 12-0 fourth quarter run by the Eagles. Tucker opened the second overtime with five of his game-high 34 points, while Hansberry scored 29 points.
Perhaps drained from a double-overtime game from the night before, and a slugfest with the WCAC champs the night before that, the Gaels were upset on day three in the fifth place game by the host Bishop Walsh, 71-70, on a buzzer-beating three-pointer. The Gaels, who were without both Tucker and Valentine, led by 17 points midway through the second quarter. Hansberry was selected as the tournament’s Most Outstanding Player.
The Gaels finished the season with a 32-7 record, their tenth 30 win season in their program’s history. The Gaels swept the MIAA A and BCL tournament titles for the fifth time, joining their ‘02-03, ‘05-06, ‘13-14, and ‘16-17 teams. Clatchey finished his 30th season in Irvington with a 754-253 record. And, still going.
Hansberry was named the Baltimore Sun’s Player of the Year, as well as named to the All-BCL first team. The junior transfer from DeMatha averaged 20.3 points, 13.6 rebounds, and 4.3 assists per game. Tucker joined Hansberry on both the All-Met and All-BCL first teams, after averaging 22.3 points, 5.2 rebounds, and 2.8 assists per game. Tucker joined Kam Williams and Phil Booth as the only three Gaels to be named to the All-BCL first team as sophomores.
Early in March, Tucker received an offer from Duke. Hansberry, closed his junior year with 14 high D1 offers, including those from Illinois, Miami, Pittsburgh, and Tennessee, among others.
Notes;
- As of ‘22, Clatchey has won ten BCL regular season championships with the Gaels, and eight BCL tournament championships, both the best marks in BCL history. Clatchey’s record stands at 754-253 (.749) through 30 seasons in Irvington. Clatchey has won all 18 of the regular season and tournament crowns over the last 20 seasons (‘02-03 through ‘21-22). Clatchey’s Gaels have won 25 or more games in 16 of the last 19 full seasons, including ten 30 win seasons over the last 17 seasons. Clatchey became the first coach to coach in 400 BCL regular season games in the final week of the ‘21-22 season. Clatchey’s .688 (276-125) BCL regular season career win percentage ranks second in BCL history, trailing only Cardinal Gibbons legendary great, Ray Mullis (.703, 183-77), and Clatchey’s BCL post-season win percentage of .676 (46-22) also ranks second in BCL history, behind only Nick Myles at St Frances, who stands at 18-8, netting a .692 win percentage. Clatchey’s 46 post-season wins are 12 more than the next in line, former Loyola Don coach Jerry Savage, who finished with 34.
35 ‘85 St Maria Goretti Gaels (30-6) Coach Cokey Robertson > BCL tournament champions, regular season runner-up, Mid-Atlantic Invitational champions
Players
Rodney Monroe 6’2 SO; BCL tournament MVP, All-BCL 2nd, All-Area 1st (NC State, NBA)
Lee Hicks 6’3 JR; All-BCL 2nd, All-Area 1st, All-BCL Tournament (Mt St Marys)
Pat Muldowney N/A SR; All-Area 1st, All-BCL HM, All-BCL Tournament
Sean Fisher 6’5 SO; (Army)
Danny Burke 5’9 JR; All-BCL HM
After guiding the St Maria Goretti boys basketball program in Hagerstown for ten years, and finding huge success, Coach Cokey Robertson was ready to take his program to the next level and join the ultra-competitive Baltimore Catholic League.
Robertson’s Gaels had put together six straight 20 win seasons out west, but it was done in obscurity, with many games played against various opponents from Pennsylvania and West Virginia.
The Gaels were invited to participate as the at-large seventh team in the ‘83 and ‘84 BCL tournaments, losing in the first round both years as the seven seed, falling to the eventual tournament runner-up and two seeds each time.
The Gaels had played non-league games versus each of the BCL’s six teams over the last several seasons, but they lacked the foundation of a league, until the BCL came calling. A couple of years before, BCL officials put out inquiries to Goretti and Bishop Walsh in Cumberland, to see if they’d like to join the league, as it looked to expand. Robertson and the Gaels took the invitation, while Bishop Walsh, located 75 miles west of Goretti, declined.
After 13 seasons of having the six original BCL members compete, the league was welcoming its first new member since being established in the ‘71-72 season. While playing as an independent, St Maria Goretti hired Robertson for the ‘73-74 season, after stints at Westminster and Thomas Johnson. By the time the 80s arrived, Robertson had built the Gaels program into a Western Maryland regional powerhouse.
Calvert Hall was the BCL defending ‘84 champion and had won four of the last five BCL regular season and tournament titles, and had won 58 of their last 62 games over league opponents, including post-season play, over those five seasons. Though the Cardinals graduated a strong senior class, including Georgia Tech forward Duane Farrell, the Cards were still rich in talent, headlined by senior forward Kelly Williamson.
The league favorite though would be Cardinal Gibbons, the ‘83 tournament champions, who were featuring a talented senior laden trio of 6’9 Rodney Walker, a Syracuse commit, 6’7 Bernard Royster, an Old Dominion commit, and 6’5 David Brown, a Massachusetts commit. The Crusaders presented one of the best ‘frontcourts’ in the country.
Though Calvert Hall were the BCL champions from ‘80-82 and ‘84, the Crusaders had put together three straight 25 win seasons, and their ‘84-85 team projected to be the best Coach Ray Mullis’ had ever had, which included three BCL championship teams in ‘74, ‘79, and ‘83. Mt St Joe, with senior John Miller, and Towson Catholic, with junior Mike Manns and senior Gamel Spencer, looked to be contenders, as well.
Robertson’s Gaels were young, headlined by a sensational sophomore in Rodney Monroe, and a 6’3 junior forward in Lee Hicks, two of the most talented Gaels’ Robertson had ever had in Hagerstown, even as his two stars were non-seniors. Monroe was a rare talent, even as a rising sophomore.
Outside of Quintin Dailey, the BCL hadn’t had a guard as skilled as Monroe coming into his sophomore season. Robertson and the Gaels also had senior guard Pat Muldowney to provide leadership and shooting, junior guard Danny Burke to run the offense, and get the ball to Monroe and Hicks, and 6’5 sophomore ‘big’ Sean Fisher, to provide needed size and rebounding capabilities.
The Gaels had gotten a taste of the BCL before, but this would be the first season that the Gaels could officially prove their worth.
The Gaels began their first season in the BCL with an ambitious out-of-conference lineup, including an early date with DeMatha, and a trip to the Benedictine Classic in Richmond. The Gaels lost to the Stags, and won two of three at the Benedictine Classic, including a 67-62 win over Mt St Joe, in the fifth place game. Gaels left December with an 8-2 record.
The Gaels began the new year in league play, and took back-to-back losses in the first week back from winter break. The Gaels lost to Towson Catholic, 64-57, and league favorite Cardinal Gibbons, 69-63. The loss to the Owls hurt, but the loss to the nationally ranked Crusaders was respectable.
The Owls hit 10 of their first 12 shots, but the Gaels fought back. Down one point heading into the fourth quarter against the Owls, the Gaels managed just nine points in the fourth quarter. Monroe scored a team-high 19 points in the loss. Hicks scored a team-high 17 points in the loss to the Crusaders, while Monroe added 14 points.
The Gaels then went on an seven game win streak, including notching victories over defending champion Calvert Hall and Mt St Joe. The Gaels went into their second meeting with nationally ranked #17 Cardinal Gibbons with a 15-4 record, and two games back of the Crusaders in the league standings.
Make that three, the Crusaders controlled the second meeting throughout, finishing with a 62-40 victory. The Crusaders’ Walker scored 32 points. After a second win over Loyola, the Gaels suffered their fourth and last league and overall loss of the season, to Mt St Joe, 71-64, despite Monroe’s 27 points.
The Gaels closed the regular season with eight straight wins, including another win over Calvert Hall, and a 80-66 win over Towson Catholic in the regular season finale, avenging their loss to the Owls. Monroe poured in 31 points, and Hicks added 21 points.
The Gaels finished tied for second in the league standings with Calvert Hall, three games behind national top ten Cardinal Gibbons, at 8-4. The Gaels would receive the two seed in the BCL tournament, on a tie-breaker, with their two game season sweep over the Cardinals.
The Gaels demolished Curley in the quarterfinals, 78-47, winning their first tournament game in their program’s history. The Gaels led by twenty points at halftime, and cruised. Monroe scored a game-high 22 points, while Hicks added 18 points.
The Gaels would take on Loyola in the semifinals, after the Dons had upset the Calvert Hall in the quarterfinals. The Dons continued to play Cinderella into the fourth quarter, taking a 42-40 lead midway through, before the Gaels closed on a 14-2 run to take a 54-44 victory, with Monroe and Muldowney sharing scoring honors with 15 points, and Hicks adding 14 points and nine rebounds.
The victory presented a third matchup with Cardinal Gibbons in the final, after a respectable six point loss in the first meeting, and a 22 point drubbing in the second meeting with the Crusaders.
The Crusaders came into the game ranked #17 in the country, boasting a 30-3 record. The Gaels shocked the world, holding on to a lead they took midway through the first quarter and turning it into a 69-62 BCL championship victory. In their first year in the league. The win was the Gaels 11th straight.
The Crusaders first opportunity to tie the game up was with 2:18 remaining in the fourth quarter, trailing by two, but Hicks hit two free throws after getting fouled grabbing a rebound on a Crusaders miss, and the heavy favorites never scored again. Monroe scored 29 points and was named as the tournament’s MVP, while Hicks joined the ‘super soph’ on the all-tournament first team, after scoring 18 points in the final.
Goretti’s quick emergence as the champion caused a bit of a stir, as the Metro Classic had the runner-up Crusaders taking on the nation’s then #2 Dunbar Poets, and the Alhambra Catholic Invitational Tournament extended their bid to the BCL regular season champion Crusaders, the one-time #8 team in the country. The Gaels were denied berths in both.
Still, Goretti was hosting their fourth Mid-Atlantic Invitational Tournament, held before the Alhambra, which included an all-star cast, including the Crusaders. The Gaels won that too, beating the Crusaders a second time in a title game, 76-64, with Monroe leading the way with 18 points. The Gaels finished the season with a 14 game win streak, and winning 22 of their last 24 games.
Monroe was named to the All-BCL second team, becoming the first Gaels player to be named to the all-league team, adding that accolade to his tournament MVP honors. Monroe averaged 17.2 points, 5.8 rebounds, and 3.2 assists per game. Hicks was also named to the All-BCL second team, after averaging 15.2 points and 9.8 rebounds per game. Muldowney was named to the All-BCL honorable mention team.
Robertson notched his seventh straight 20 win season and led the Gaels to the tournament title in their very first season in the league, grabbing the crown before Mt St Joe, Towson Catholic, and Curley, all who had been founding members for 14 seasons. Of the first 13 tournaments – Calvert Hall and Loyola each had won five titles, and Cardinal Gibbons won three.
Notes;
- St Maria Goretti was the first non-founding member to join the Baltimore Catholic League, playing in their post-season tournaments in ‘82-83 and ‘83-84 seasons, and becoming a full-fledged member in the ‘84-85 season, giving the league seven teams. Four seasons later, St Frances (known as St Frances – Charles Hall) became the eighth member of the league. Curley left the league after the ‘92-93 season, but did play in the post-season tournament in ‘93-94. The league went four seasons with seven teams until Spalding joined the BCL in the ‘97-98 season. At the turn of the century, many Catholic schools were struggling to stay afloat financially, and archdioceses across the country were closing a good number of schools. This hit the BCL in back-to-back seasons in the ‘09-10 and ‘10-11 seasons when Towson Catholic and Cardinal Gibbons closed in back-to-back years. However, the league stayed at seven teams, as John Carroll joined the league as the Crusaders were leaving in the ‘10-11 season. A year after the Patriots joined, Mount Carmel became an eighth member, which is where it stands now in 2022. Three founding members remain in the BCL – Calvert Hall, Loyola, and Mt St Joe.
36 ‘18 John Carroll Patriots (28-9) Coach John Zito > #2 in the Sun, MIAA A tournament champions, BCL tournament semifinalists
Players
Immanuel Quickley 6’4 SR; McDonald’s All-American, All-Met 1st, All-BCL 1st, 20.8p/6.7r/6.7a/2.6s (Kentucky, NBA)
Montez Mathis 6’4 SR; All-Met 1st, All-BCL 1st, 17.1p/6.8r/3.2a/3.2s (Rutgers / St Johns)
Yavuz Gultekin 6’7 JR; All-BCL 2nd (Texas A&M / San Diego)
Qadir Ismael 6’7 SR; (Villanova football)
Nigel Haughton 6’1 SR; (Towson / Chestnut Hill)
Cameron Byers 6’6 SO; (East Stroudsburg PA)
As the 2017-18 season approached, John Carroll had competed in the BCL for seven seasons, and proven to be one of the three best programs in the highly competitive private school league over those seven seasons, and arguably, the second best, behind only Mt St Joe. Over those seven seasons, Mt St Joe won four BCL tournament titles, John Carroll won two, and Calvert Hall, the other. Also, over those seven seasons, John Carroll, Mt St Joe, and St Frances, each won two MIAA A tournament titles.
Since Tony Martin introduced the Patriots to the BCL in the ‘10-11 season and won the tournament the very first year, the Patriots 64 wins in league play ranked behind only the Gaels (72) and Panthers (66).
The Patriots had been consistently good since joining the league, so consistent they were the only team in the league not to have a losing league record in any of those seven seasons. Now, John Zito’s Pats looked to have possibly their most talented team yet, headlined by a pair of 6’4 senior guards, Immanuel Quickley and Montez Mathis.
Quickley had committed to Kentucky in September, after the 8th highest ranked prospect in the country chose the ‘Cats over Kansas. Maryland, and Miami. In August, Mathis had committed to Rutgers. Joining the two guards would be junior forward Yuvez Gultekin, a 6’7 scoring threat. Zito’s Patriots went 22-13 overall and 8-6 in league play in ‘16-17, his first season after taking over for Martin.
As talented as the Patriots were, Mt St Joe and St Frances were both blessed with talent, as well. The Gaels returned the reigning BCL Player of the Year in 6’10 Maryland commit, Jalen ‘Stix’ Smith. In addition, the Gaels returned a sharp-shooting, highly recruited junior guard in James Bishop.
St Frances was starting to re-load, with ‘super soph’ Adrian ‘Ace’ Baldwin returning after a great freshman season, fellow sophomore Jordan Toles starting to move up the prospects charts, and junior ‘Ra Ra’ Jones and senior Elijah Epps returning with their talent and experience. St Maria Goretti tied Mt St Joe for the ‘17 regular season crown, went 27-9, and was returning highly heralded junior RJ Blakney.
The Patriots not only would have a tough league slate, but an admirable out-of conference schedule as well, with dates with Lake Clifton, Poly, Perry Hall, a trip to Connecticut, and a trip to Massachusetts to compete in the Hoophall Classic.
After an opening win over West Nottingham, the Patriots faced the first of their two regular season matchups with Mt St Joe in the second game of the season, without Quickley, who was out with mononucleosis. The Patriots were ready, taking out the Gaels with a 74-53 romp. Mathis was outstanding, racking up 30 points and 13 rebounds, while the Gaels’ Smith tallied 26 points and 12 rebounds. Mathis scored 11 points in the second quarter, where the Patriots outscored the Gaels, 20-9.
The Pats couldn’t survive without Quickley two nights later in their first matchup with St Frances, though it took overtime for the Panthers to pull out a 78-73 victory. The Patriots fought back from a seven point halftime deficit to force overtime. Mathis led the Patriots with 22 points, while Gultekin added 15 points.
After putting together three straight wins, the Patriots faced Lake Clifton in the William Wells Challenge at Coppin State. Still without Quickley, the Pats broke open a four point game at intermission into a 77-54 rout of the Lakers, scoring 47 points in the second half. Mathis led five Patriots double-digit scorers with 19 points.
The Patriots won the following two games, before losing a one point game to Goretti, 60-59, their second BCL league loss of the season. Two nights later, the Patriots dispatched defending 4A state champion Perry Hall, 77-62, as Mathis (26) and Quickley (25) combined for 51 points, including 22 in the fourth quarter. The Gators came within five points early in the fourth quarter, before the Patriots went on a 16-4 run, sparked by Mathis and Quickley.
The Patriots notched a 22 point win over 7-1 Boys Latin to push them to 8-2 heading into the Christmas break. The Patriots went 1-1 in the holiday tournament, losing to St Johns DC, 75-70, in a tight contest that was tied after three quarters, then routed St Mary’s by 36 points.
The Patriots came out of the break with three straight wins, before falling to St Frances on the road, 71-61, this time with Quickley. Mathis scored a team-high 21 points, and he, Gultekin, and Quickley combined to score 52 of the Patriots 61 points.
The Patriots traveled to Connecticut to take on the top ranked team in Rhode Island – 9-1 Bishop Hendrickson, before routing the Hawks, 82-53.
The Pats stayed in New England another two days to take on Hudson Catholic of Jersey City in the Hoophall Classic. The Patriots fell behind the Hawks 16-6 after one quarter, and never recovered, losing 71-58.
The Patriots finished January winning seven straight games, boasting a 75-67 victory over defending state champion Poly in the seventh, their third win over a defending state champion (Perry Hall, Bishop Hendricken RI).
Overshadowed by Quickley and Mathis most of the time, senior Nigel Haughton was the catalyst in this win, scoring eight of his game-high 23 points in the fourth quarter, including seven straight points to push the Pats lead from three points to ten points with just over three minutes to play. Quickley added 20 points.
The Patriots won their next four games as they headed into the final week of the season tied for third with Goretti in the league standings, a game back of Mt St Joe, and two games behind St Frances. The Patriots traveled to Irvington to take on Mt St Joe on Monday, then to Hagerstown to take on Goretti on Wednesday.
The Patriots lost both, finishing fourth in the BCL standings, and taking the four seed into the BCL tournament. The Patriots knocked off a pair of MIAA A foes to finish the regular season – first, Boys Latin, 68-55, their second win over the 23-6 Lakers, then a 26 point win over Glenelg Country. The Pats headed into the post-season with a 24-8 overall record.
First up in the post-season was the MIAA A tournament, where the Patriots hadn’t advanced to the final since winning back-to-back titles in ‘11 and ‘12.
The Patriots defeated Calvert Hall, 88-72, in the quarterfinals, using a 9-2 run to open the second half – to push their lead from three to ten points, and cruised from there. Gultekin scored a team-high 22 points and grabbed a team-high 12 rebounds, while Quickley supplied 20 points.
That pitted the Patriots versus 29-5 Mt St Joe and ‘Stix’ Smith, after the Pats split their two game series in the regular season with the MIAA A defending champions. The Patriots topped the Gaels at home in late November, 74-53, without Quickley, then lost in Irvington, 78-71, just ten days before this semifinal matchup.
The semifinal would prove to be one of the better ones in MIAA A tournament history, as Quickley’s runner off the glass beat the buzzer and gave the Patriots a thrilling 79-78 overtime semifinal victory over the Gaels.
The game was tied at 35 at halftime and was tight throughout, despite the Gaels losing Smith in the third quarter due to a head injury. Tyree Myers gave the Gaels a 78-77 lead with seven seconds to go in overtime, before Quickley’s heroics. Quickley scored 22 points, Mathis added 21, and Brandon Craig added 14.
The Patriots would take on 25 win Boys Latin in the final, after the Lakers upset top seed St Frances, 68-65, in the semifinals.
For the second game in a row, the Patriots were forced into overtime, and for the second game in a row, the Pats came out on top, with a 58-50 overtime win over the Lakers. The Lakers overcame a 17 point deficit to force overtime, before the Patriots found a 12-4 edge in the extra session. Quickley led the Patriots, scoring a game-high 20 points, while Gultekin and Mathis added 16 and 15 points, respectively. The crown was the third MIAA A title for the Patriots.
The Patriots quest for a second (‘11) MIAA-BCL tournament sweep would be denied. After posting an 88-49 rout over Loyola in the quarterfinals, the Patriots would falter to St Frances a third time in the season in the semifinals, 70-53.
The Patriots finished with a 29-8 record, a MIAA A championship, two wins over 31 win Mt St Joe, three victories over 25 win Boys Latin, and four wins over eventual state champions, including three Maryland state champions in Poly, Perry Hall, and Lake Clifton, and Rhode Island state champion Bishop Hendricken, who finished 26-4.
Quickley was named to the All-Met first team for a third year in a row, after averaging 20.8 points, 6.7 rebounds, 6.7 assists, and 2.6 steals per game. The McDonald’s All-American finished with 1,934 career points with the Patriots, the most in Harford County history. Quickley was joined on both the All-Met first team and the All-BCL first team by Mathis, who averaged 17.1 points, 6.8 rebounds, 3.2 assists, and 3.2 steals per game.
Mathis also eclipsed the 1,000 career points mark at John Carroll, in his two seasons, after playing at Mount Carmel his freshman and sophomore season. Gultekin was named to the All-BCL second team.
Notes;
- Quickley, a five star recruit, played at Kentucky for John Calipari, choosing the Wildcats over Miami and Kansas. After averaging 5.2 points, 1.8 rebounds, and 1.2 assists per game, as a freshman, Quickley had a breakout sophomore season, earning the SEC’s Player of the Year award. Quickley averaged 16.1 points, 4.2 rebounds, and 1.9 assists per game, in his second and last year in Lexington. Quickley made 144 of 156 free throw attempts (92.3%). Quickley was chosen in the first round of the 2020 NBA Draft by the New York Knicks, 25th overall. Quickley was selected to the ‘21 NBA All-Rookie 2nd team, after averaging 11.4 points, 2.1 assists, and 2 steals per game, in just 19.4 minutes per game. Quickley averaged 11.3 points per game in his second year in the league, improving in each of the all-around categories, adding 3.5 assists and 3.2 rebounds per game.
- Mathis played at Rutgers for three seasons, starting in 66 of 90 games. As a freshman in the B1G, Mathis averaged 8.5 points, 2.9 rebounds, and 1.1 assists per game. He followed that with 7.4 points and 3.5 rebounds per game in his sophomore season, and 8.3 points and 2.8 rebounds per game in his junior season. Mathis transferred to St Johns for his senior season, starting in 28 of 32 games, averaging 8.2 points, 3.4 rebounds, 1.9 assists, and 1.1 steals per game. Mathis finished his college career having scored 987 points and 384 rebounds in 122 games over four years.
- Gultekin transferred to Bishop Walsh for his high school senior year, after Quickley and Mathis had graduated. Gultekin played one year at Texas A&M under Buzz Williams, before transferring to San Diego. After a pandemic induced abbreviated season in ‘20-21, Gultekin averaged 7.3 points and 5.0 rebounds in 19.3 minutes per game for the Toreros in ‘21-22.
- Ismail, a quarterback in high school, played at Villanova for two seasons on the gridiron, throwing 29 attempts his freshman year, before converting to receiver, and catching 11 passes for 182 yards in his second season with the Cats. Ismail transferred to Syracuse in 2022, where his father Quadry starred at from ‘89 through ‘92.
37 ‘12 Mt Joseph Gaels (28-8) Coach Pat Clatchey > #3 in the Sun, BCL regular season and tournament champions, MIAA A tournament runner-up, Alhambra 6th 1-2
Players
Kameron Williams 6’3 JR; BCL POY, All-Met 1st, BCL Tournament MVP, All-ACIT 2nd, 17.8p/3.8r/2.0a (Ohio State)
Phil Booth 6’4 SO; All-Met 2nd, All-BCL 1st, All-BCL Tournament, 13.3p/4.2r/3.2a (Villanova)
Lavon Long 6’5 JR; All-BCL HM, All-BCL Tournament (Siena)
Charlie Jones 6’4 JR; (American)
Jaylen Adams 5’10 SO; (St Bonaventure, NBA)
Phillip Lawrence-Ricks 6’7 SR; (Marist)
Kyle Doran 6’5 SO; (Johns Hopkins)
It had been six seasons since Mt St Joe had reigned supreme in the BCL and MIAA A leagues as the Gaels and coach Pat Clatchey entered the ‘11-12 season, and this year’s unit seemed to be a year away from its greatness, especially with BCL defending champion John Carroll still ripe with talent, and St Frances reloading with a pair of talented, high-level transfers. The Gaels three best players would consist of two juniors and a sophomore.
For six seasons, from the ‘02-03 season through the ‘07-08 season, Mt St Joe went 183-30 overall, 75-7 in league play, won three tournament championships, and played in two other finals, but in the three years since, the Gaels had lost nearly the same amount of games (28), in just half of that time.
John Carroll entrance into the BCL in ‘10-11 went like ‘gangbusters’, with the Patriots winning the tournament title in their very first season in the league, and going 33-5. The Patriots did lose some talent to graduation, but they still boasted Jarrod Jones, Rodney Elliott, and Justin Jenifer on their roster.
St Frances welcomed junior guard Tevin Saddler from Aberdeen, one of the best scorers in Harford County as a sophomore, and welcomed back Daquan Cook, who played sparingly as a sophomore for the Panthers, before leading Digital Harbor to a state title as a junior. Add in 6’4 junior Maurice White, the Panthers were loaded, too.
The Gaels went 8-4 in league play in ‘10-11, tied for third with Calvert Hall, behind the Patriots and Panthers. While 22 overall wins is enough for most, the Gaels ‘11 total was the second least amount of overall wins since the ‘98-99 season.
The Gaels were blessed with the talents of Kameron Williams, who was selected to the All-BCL 1st team as a sophomore. Williams would be joined by 6’2 rising sophomore Phil Booth, a very talented all-around guard, and 6’5 junior Lavon Long, who could provide rebounding, defense, and scoring in the paint.
Williams had established himself in the BCL, now Booth and Long would need to do the same if the Gaels were going to challenge the Patriots and Panthers.
The young Gaels put together an 11 game win streak to start the season as they headed into the Christmas break, with seven quality wins, highlighted by a 78-76 overtime victory in their first meeting versus St Frances in Irvington. The Panthers led by ten points at halftime, 43-33, before Williams scored ten points in the third quarter – to shave the deficit to two points. The Gaels didn’t see their first lead of the game until Long’s follow with 2:30 to play, to give the home team a 62-60 lead.
The game went to overtime tied at 64. Booth hit two three-pointers, and Long blocked a potential game-tying shot in the final seconds to allow the Gaels escape with a victory. Williams scored a team-high 28 points, while Booth scored eight of his 20 points in the extra session.
The win streak also contained wins over Pallotti, Maret DC, Glenelg Country, and Poly.
The Gaels traveled to Wilmington, North Carolina over the holidays to compete in the Leon Brogden Holiday Tournament and won two of three games. The Gaels routed 6-2 Ashley NC, the hosts, 67-45, before falling to 10-0 New Hanover NC, 63-52, in the semifinals. The hometown Wildcats used a 7-0 run to break open a tie game midway through the third quarter, and the score never got closer than three points. Williams and Adams shared scoring honors with 14 points apiece in the loss. The Gaels routed 8-3 Laney NC, 56-33, on day three.
After opening the new year with a win over McDonogh, the Gaels took their first league loss at Calvert Hall, 56-54, as the Cardinals hit 6 of 13 beyond the arc. The Gaels ran a three game win streak before heading to Massachusetts to play in the Hoophall Classic, including a 69-57 win over 16-3 John Carroll, in the teams first of two meetings. Williams sparked a 15-3 run in the third quarter to find separation from the Patriots. Williams scored a team-high 17 points, while Adams scored 15, Long had 14, and Booth scored 12.
The Gaels were crushed by 13-1 Our Savior National Academy NY, 87-64, at the Hoophall Classic. The Pioneers used a 20-6 second quarter to push their one point lead into a 15 point lead at intermission. The Gaels shot 11-31 in the first half, digging themselves a hole. Williams scored a game-high 28 points, on 12-19 shooting, while the other Gaels’ combined to shoot just 15-45 from the floor.
The Gaels closed the season winning six of eight games, losing a second time to St Frances, 56-48, and suffering o one point loss to McDonogh, 59-58, in a four overtime marathon. The Gaels trailed the entire game in the loss to the Panthers, while the Gaels led the for 30 of 32 minutes in regulation time in their matchup with the Eagles, before having to force each of the four overtimes. The Gaels did regain a 58-56 lead in the fourth overtime on Booth’s layup with less than a minute remaining, but the Gaels failed to score again, and the Eagles converted three free throws in the final minute to take the win.
The Gaels did pick up wins over Goretti and Spalding, and completed the two game sweep of defending champion John Carroll, with a 49-46 overtime victory. Williams and Booth combined for eight points in overtime, and Williams two free throws with seven seconds remaining in overtime gave the Gaels their final three point margin over the Pats. Williams scored 19 points, and Booth added 15.
The win clinched both the BCL and MIAA A regular season crowns for the Gaels, who finished 13-3 in the MIAA, and 12-2 in the BCL. This was the Gaels eighth BCL regular season crown in ten seasons, becoming the first team in league history to win eight in ten. In fact, no other program had won six regular season crown in ten seasons.
The Gaels topped Glenelg Country a third time in the MIAA A semifinals, 62-48, putting the Dragons away early, using a 13-0 run in the first quarter to help build a 34-16 halftime lead, and they never looked back. Williams scored 22 points, while Booth provided 15 points and six steals.
The Gaels faced John Carroll in the finals, nine days after their overtime victory over the Patriots. The title game was more of the same back and forth, until the Patriots used a 7-0 run in the fourth quarter to take a six point lead, and held on for a 44-41 win, their first in three tries versus the Gaels.
The Gaels trailed by nine points in the first half, but eventually took the lead early in the fourth quarter, 33-32, with 6:42 remaining. Then, the Patriots 7-0 run, as the Gaels went scoreless for nearly four minutes. Williams desperation potential game-tying heave from half court as time expired was off the mark.
Still, the Gaels had an opportunity to win their first BCL tournament championship in six seasons, and they put themselves right there, with a 67-47 win over St Maria Goretti in the quarterfinals, and a 54-49 win over Spalding in the semifinals. Booth scored 10 of his team-high 19 points in the third quarter, where the Gaels pushed a three point lead into a nine point lead. Williams added 13 points.
The semifinal victory set up a fourth meeting with John Carroll, who edged St Frances, 42-41, in the other semifinal.
In the final, after falling behind by ten points midway through the third quarter, the Gaels used a 15-2 run late in the third quarter, punctuated by a Williams three-pointer, to give themselves a lead they’d never surrender in a 52-39 victory. Williams and Long shared team-high scoring honors with 17 points apiece. Long tallied 11 of his points in the final four minutes.
The Gaels won their fourth BCL championship, adding to titles in ‘03, ‘04, and ‘06. Williams was named the tournament’s Most Valuable Player, and both Booth and Long joined the junior on the all-tournament team.
The Gaels then went on to the Alhambra Catholic Invitational Tournament and drew 28-4 Gonzaga DC, the WCAC runner-up, in the first round. The Gaels fell to the Eagles, 64-61, then routed the hosts, Bishop Walsh, 76-32, on day two, presenting a fifth matchup with John Carroll, with the Gaels holding a 3-1 season series edge. The series would finish 3-2, as the Patriots took a 72-62 victory over the Gaels, to win the fifth place game. Williams was named to the all-tournament second team.
The Gaels finished 28-8, won their fourth BCL tournament title in ten years, and won their seventh regular season league crown in that same time. The Gaels won three of five games over MIAA A champion John Carroll, who finished 30-8.
Williams was named the Baltimore Catholic League Player of the Year, just the fourth junior to be named the honor since the ‘89-90 season, joining Mark Karcher, and former Gaels stars Will Thomas and Eric Atkins. Williams was also named to the All-Met first team, after averaging 17.8 points, 3.8 rebounds, and 2.0 assists per game.
Booth was named to the All-BCL first team and the All-Met second team, averaging 13.3 points, 4.2 rebounds, and 3.2 assists per game. Long was named to the All-BCL honorable mention team.
Clatchey won his 450th game at Mt St Joe during the season, his 20th in Irvington.
Notes;
- Long transferred to Oakland Mills for his senior year in high school, and was named the Howard County Player of the Year. Long played for four seasons at Siena for Jimmy Patsos, playing in 129 games, starting in 119. As a freshman, Long averaged 9.4 points and 4.9 rebounds per game, and 10.4 points and 4.9 rebounds in his sophomore season. The Saints won 21 games in his junior season, as Long averaged 10.6 points, 5.5 rebounds, and 3.3 assists per game. Long ranked second on the Saints in both rebounding and assists in his senior season, averaging 12.6 points, 6.3 rebounds, and 2.6 assists per game, while shooting 52.2% from the field. In four seasons at Siena, Long scored 1,379 points, grabbed 692 rebounds, and dished out 281 assists.
- Lawrence-Ricks played four seasons at Marist, playing in 100 games, starting in 44. Lawrence-Ricks scored 417 points and grabbed 215 rebounds in four seasons for the Red Foxes.
38 ‘85 Cardinal Gibbons Crusaders (32-8) Coach Ray Mullis > #2 in the Sun, BCL regular season champion, BCL tournament runner-up, Hornet Classic champions, Mid-Atlantic Inv. runner-up, Alhambra 7th 1-2
Players
Rodney Walker 6’9 SR; Parade All-American, All-Met 1st, All-BCL 1st, All-BCL Tournament, 23.9p/8.9r (Syracuse / Maryland)
Bernard Royster 6’6 SR; All-Met 1st, All-BCL 1st, All-BCL Tournament, All-ACIT 1st, 22.3p/7.4r (Old Dominion)
David Brown 6’5 SR; All-Met 2nd, All-BCL 1st, All-ACIT 2nd, 15.p/11.0r (Massachusetts)
Jerome Felix N/A SR; 9.2p/4.0r/4.0a
Chris Brandt N/A JR
As the ‘84-85 season arrived, the Baltimore area high school basketball scene had placed itself firmly on the national high school basketball landscape. Cardinal Gibbons coach Ray Mullis had watched it all evolve from a restroom stop on a recruiter’s way to ‘Philly’ or New York, from DC, to a national hotspot for both high quality teams and high quality players.
This was 11 years after Skip Wise and the Dunbar Poets had upset Adrian Dantley and the DeMatha Stags, coached by Morgan Wootten. This was two and a half years after Calvert Hall was crowned as the top team in the nation, and a year and a half after Dunbar was crowned the same.
Mullis’ Crusaders had themselves broke the national top 15 threshold twice – first during the ‘78-79 season, during high school All-American Quinton Dailey’s senior season, and then four years later, in ‘82-83, in Crusaders’ former star Tim Cole’s senior season.
The ‘79 team snapped a four year BCL title run by the Dons, beat powerful West Philadelphia at the Capital Centre, and lost just one game at ‘the Alhambra’, by three points, to DeMatha, in the semifinals.
Now, this ‘84-85 team was projected to be the best of all of Mullis’ teams, and much was expected, as the BCL pre-season favorite. And now, thanks to the Cardinals and Crusaders, high expectations and rankings came with that projection. The Crusaders were ranked #4 nationally in the USA Today in their pre-season rankings, while the Poets began the season at #7.
The Crusaders would boast one of the best front-courts not only in the area or East Coast, but one of the best in the country. The Crusaders featured a senior center and two senior forwards that signed commitments to D1 programs in the early signing period. Rodney Walker, the Crusaders 6’9 center, had signed on with Jim Boeheim and Syracuse. Bernard Royster, a 6’6 scoring forward, had committed to Dr Tom Young and Old Dominion, and 6’5 senior forward David Brown committed to Massachusetts. The talented trio were complimented by guards Jerome Felix and Chris Brandt.
Calvert Hall had lost Duane Farrell and two other two-year stars to graduation, but did return Kelly Williamson, who averaged nearly a double-double as a junior, and Jeff Nattans. Mt St Joe featured 6’6 junior John Miller, and Towson Catholic was led by junior transfer and former Crusader, Gamel Spencer.
The Crusaders would travel too, more than 7,000 miles over the season, to take on many of the nation’s best. The Crusaders biggest national test would be at the Las Vegas Prep Classic over the holidays, a four round affair featuring more than a handful of the best teams in the nation. The Crusaders would also compete in the Towson Tip-Off and the Hornet Classic in Chesapeake, Virginia. In addition, the Crusaders had dates with Oak Hill and Gonzaga, and city powers Walbrook and Southern.
The Crusaders season started in earnest at the Towson Catholic Tip-Off, where the Crusaders registered a 35 point win over the hosts, and a twenty point win over Carroll, of the Washington Catholic League, 81-61. Walker was named the tournament’s MVP, registering 41 points, 22 rebounds, and seven blocked shots, over two games.
The Crusaders lost their first game of the season to nationally acclaimed Oak Hill, 82-79, to fall to 7-1. Oak Hill’s Rod Strickland’s three-point play with seven seconds to go proved to be the game-winner. Royster scored 29 points in the loss.
The Crusaders followed that tough loss with an 86-65 win over Royster’s former team, Woodlawn, then kept that momentum going with an impressive 77-64 win over Gonzaga, who featured Georgetown commit Mark Tillmon and highly recruited junior Perry Carter. Royster scored 32 points over his former mates, then scored 28 points and grabbed 11 rebounds, and Brown added 25 points and nine rebounds, in the win over the Eagles.
The Crusaders crushed #6 Walbrook, 95-69, the following week, then Southern, before turning their sights on the Hornet Classic in Virginia, just before the Christmas break.
The Crusaders won both games in Chesapeake, easily. The Crusaders started with a rout of Lake Taylor, with Royster pouring in 37 points, followed by a 95-75 victory over highly regarded Booker T Washington VA, with Walker scoring 28 points, grabbing 13 rebounds and blocking three shots, Royster adding 29 points, and Brown contributing 15 points, 14 rebounds, and four assists.
The Crusaders beat the hosts, 6-0 Deep Creek, in the final, 93-69, with Walker scoring 25 points, and Royster scoring 22 points. Royster was named the MVP of the tournament, scoring 88 points over three games.
Over the holidays, it was off to Vegas. The opener in ‘Sin City’ featured a matchup with highly heralded Bishop O’Dowd from San Francisco, and came down to Felix’s game-winning jump shot with :34 to play that gave the Crusaders a 64-63 win. Royster scored a game-high 21 points in the win. On day two, the Crusaders defeated defending tournament champion Chapparall NV, 97-73, as Walker scored 31 points, Royster, 29 points, and Brown, 20 points.
After a win over Dominguez CA in the semifinals, the 13-1 Crusaders faced 10-0 Flint Hill, featuring Dennis Scott, in the final. Flint Hill upset the nation’s top ranked team, Mercer Island WA, in the semifinals. The Crusaders built a 37-31 halftime lead, but were undone by a 22-6 run by the Huskies over the third quarter, before a furious comeback fell short in a 72-70 loss. Royster scored a team-high 26 points, while Walker added 24 points and nine rebounds.
The Crusaders entered the new year with a 13-2 record and a #8 national ranking, with a handful of quality wins, and a three point loss to Oak Hill, and a two point loss to Flint Hill.
The Crusaders rolled through January, winning all ten games in the month and entered February with a 23-2 record. The Crusaders began the year with a 64-46 win over 8-4 Loyola, before their first showdown with Calvert Hall. The Crusaders dominated the Cardinals, taking a twenty point halftime lead, before finishing with a 85-58 win. Walker scored a game-high 31 points, while Royster added 24 points, and Brown added 16 points and 11 rebounds. The Crusaders closed January with a 95-74 victory over Towson Catholic, who came in 5-1 in league play.
The Crusaders began February with another win over Loyola, then a 62-40 win over St Maria Goretti, who was tied for second in the BCL in their first season in the league. Walker led all scorers with 24 points. The Crusaders then topped Mt St Joe, 81-62, winning their 16th straight game to clinch their fifth BCL regular season crown. Walker scored 26 points and grabbed 12 rebounds in the win.
The regular season finale offered the second meeting with Calvert Hall, on the road. It would be without Brown, who had a family member with a serious illness. The Cards took advantage, handing the Crusaders their first league loss, 66-62, as Felix left in the third quarter with a knee injury, and Walker battled foul trouble throughout.
Still, the Crusaders finished the regular season with a 29-3 overall record, a 11-1 league record, earned numerous quality wins, and suffered losses by two, three, and four points, all to high-quality opponents.
The Gaels faced Mt St Joe in the BCL semifinals, and without Felix, needed two overtimes to put away the Gaels in a 75-73 win. The Gaels trailed by six points to begin the fourth quarter, before rallying to tie the game at 62 at the end of regulation. Walker scored 11 of his 22 points in the two extra sessions, including the game-winner with ten seconds to go in the second overtime. Royster scored a team-high 23 points, and Brown, back with the team, scored 20 points.
The title game opponent was first year member St Maria Goretti, led by sophomore Rodney Monroe and junior Lee Hicks, who helped the Gaels finish tied for second in the league standings, and holding a 26-6 overall record coming into the final.
Things started to fall apart for the Crusaders in the final, if they hadn’t already with Felix’s injury in the Calvert Hall loss. The Crusaders trailed the Gaels by four points in the third quarter when Walker went down, and never came back. Without Felix, the Crusaders committed ten turnovers. Down 64-62, the Crusaders had a chance to tie, but Royster’s jumper at the foul line missed, and the Gaels took the championship. Walker and Royster were named to the all-tournament team.
With the regular season crown, the Crusaders earned a berth in the Metro Classic, and a date with the top ranked team in the country, the Dunbar Poets. The Poets were looking to clinch their second mythical national championship in three seasons, with a win.
Hobbled, the Crusaders didn’t stand a chance, as not only was Felix out for the season, Walker was out for at least two weeks, and out of the Metro Classic. The Poets toppled the Crusaders, 88-61, to win another national championship. Royster scored 26 points in a losing cause.
Next was the Mid-Atlantic Invitational, without Walker and Felix. The Crusaders would advance to the final after a win over Norfolk Academy VA, but they’d lose to Goretti for a second time in eight days, 76-64, in the championship. The Crusaders were outscored 19-3 in the third quarter. Brown scored 25 points.
The Crusaders didn’t fare any better at the Alhambra Catholic Invitational Tournament, losing to St John Neumann PA, 74-65, and Roman Catholic PA, 71-62, before beating the host, Bishop Walsh, 86-58, on day three, playing all three games without Walker and Felix. Royster was named to the all-tournament first team, and Brown was named to the second team.
The Crusaders ‘84-85 season divided into two seasons in late February – the one that, with a healthy roster, was 29-2 and one of the best in the country, and the other, without a full roster, that finished 3-6, with a depleted unit.
Still, the Crusaders finished with 32 wins, with wins over Gonzaga DC, Dominguez CA, Chapparall NV, Bishop O’Dowd CA, Carroll DC, Deep Creek VA, Norfolk Academy VA, and Booker T Washington VA. Plus, wins over Walbrook and Southern, and with a healthy Felix, two wins over Goretti.
Both Walker and Royster were named to the Sun’s All-Met first team and the All-BCL first team. Walker averaged 23.9 points and 8.9 rebounds per game, while Royster averaged 22 points and 7.4 rebounds per game. Brown was named to the Evening Sun’s All-Met second team, after averaging 14.5 points and a team-leading 11 rebounds per game.
Mullis led his team to a career-best 32 wins, and spent a long honeymoon during the season among the nation’s top ten, but the long road became too long, and the injuries eradicated any hopes for a final top ten ranking.
Notes;
- Walker committed to Syracuse and Jim Boeheim, joining former Crusader Mike Brown and Spingarn guard Sherman Douglas in Boeheim’s ‘85 recruiting class. As a freshman, Walker came off of the bench for the 26-6 Orangeman, averaging 3.3 points and 3.1 rebounds per contest, in 12.6 minutes per game. In the Orange’s NCAA tournament opening round win over Brown, Walker scored 15 points and grabbed a team-high nine rebounds in 22 minutes. Walker, unhappy about limited playing time (see freshman Derrick Coleman), withdrew from Syracuse in January of his sophomore season, after playing in 14 games, and averaging 4.4 points and 3.9 rebounds in 12.9 minutes per game. Although he played just two seasons for the Orange, Walker played with a handful of Syracuse legends and future NBA pros such as ‘Pearl’ Washington, Coleman, Rony Seikaly, Douglas, Rafael Addison, and Stephan Thompson, spanning two eras, the ‘Golden Years’ in the Big East’s beginning, with ‘Pearl’, to the NCAA national runner-up team with Coleman, Seikaly, and Douglas. Walker transferred to Maryland, joining former Dunbar coach Bob Wade, who was in his second season in College Park. Walker played in only 21 games over two seasons in College Park, scoring a total of 33 points and grabbing 19 rebounds.
- Royster played four years at Old Dominion, playing in 113 games, producing 772 points and 367 rebounds in that time. Royster came off of the bench for the Monarchs in two NCAA tournament games as a freshman, when they finished 23-8.
- Brown played four seasons at UMass, playing in 87 games, shortened by an injury during his career-best senior season. Brown was averaging 17.3 points, 9.0 rebounds, 2.3 assists, and 1.5 steals per game in eight games. Brown came in as a freshman and averaged 9.1 points and 5.2 rebounds per game for the Minutemen. Brown averaged 11.6 points and 6.7 rebounds per game as a sophomore, then 13.5 points, a team-high 7.9 rebounds, 2.7 assists, and 1.3 steals per game as a junior. Brown finished with 1,037 points, 593 rebounds, and 185 assists, in his Minutemen career.
39 ‘22 St Frances Panthers (35-8) Coach Nick Myles > #2 in the Sun, BCL and MIAA regular season champions, BCL tournament runner-up, Alhambra 3rd 2-1
Players
Bryce Lindsay 6’3 SR; All-Met 1st, All-BCL 1st, All-BCL Tournament, 17.0p/4.0r/2.0a (South Carolina commit)
Carlton Carrington 6’4 JR; All-BCL 2nd
Daquan Davis 6’0 SO; All-BCL 2nd, All-Met 2nd
Jonathan Lamothe 6’4 JR; All-BCL Tournament (Maryland commit)
Cortez Johnson 6’7 SR; (UNC Greensboro)
Taion Robinson 6’6 SR
The Covid-abbreviated ‘20-21 notwithstanding, the Panthers had established themselves as the premier program in the tough Baltimore Catholic League, reigning supreme since the ‘17–18 season. Since that season, the Panthers had won three straight BCL regular season and tournament titles in a row, before the Panthers lost in overtime in the finals to John Carroll in the abbreviated ‘20-21 season.
Since the ‘17-18 season, the Panthers had won 54 of their last 58 games versus league opponents in regular season and league tournament play as they entered the ‘21-22 season. The overtime loss to the Patriots in the ‘21 final was the only game the Panthers lost in the Covid-effected ‘20-21 season, as they finished 15-1.
Still, the Panthers entered ‘21-22 season ranked #4 in the area in the Sun’s pre-season rankings, as the BCL boasted every one of the top five ranked teams in the area – with John Carroll #1, Spalding #2, Mt St Joe #3, and Mount Carmel #5.
The Patriots returned four starters from their championship team, Spalding featured the reigning BCL Player of the Year in Cam Whitmore, Mt St Joe boasted one of the best sophomores in the region in Bryson Tucker, and were gaining a high level prospect in 6’8 junior transfer Amani Hansberry, and Mount Carmel was returning four year starter Deon Perry.
Coach Nick Myles and the Panthers suffered a severe blow when 6’8 sophomore power forward Derik Queen decided to transfer to national power Monteverde FL, joining Poly junior transfer Kwame Evans on the Eagles loaded roster. Queen was a unique talent, ranked as the #2 player in the ESPN Top 25 in the ‘24 class (Evans was ranked #2 in the ‘23 class). Never had a Panther or BCL player ranked that high, though Mark Karcher ranked among the top ten in his class in several publications.
The Panthers, like in the past, did find additions in the transfer portal, gaining 6’3 senior guard Bryce Lindsay, the former Poly Engineer state champion and Evans’ former teammate, and 6’4 junior Carlton Carrington, from McDonogh. Junior Jason Lamothe, a 6’4 guard, was the sole returning starter from the ‘20-21 season, but 6’7 senior Cortez Johnson was ready to fill in the paint now that Queen left, and 6’0 rising sophomore Daquan Davis was emerging as a special talent.
The Panthers demolished their first five opponents, with only one coming within 30 points of the Panthers, winning all by 17 points or more, for a +39.2 point differential. The Panthers won their league opener with a 68-50 victory over Calvert Hall, before heading to the National
Hoop Fest at DeMatha.
The Panthers dropped Huntingtown St Joseph Prep WV, 65-56, to advance to the finals with the home team, the nationally ranked #3 Stags. The Panthers stunned the Stags on their home court, winning on a Lindsay drive with seven seconds to play to break a 55-55 tie. Davis, the sophomore, stole the ball on the ensuing possession, and hit two free throws for a 59-55 win.
The Panthers went from unranked to #9 in the country with the win, while the Stags fell from #3 to #13. Johnson came up big inside, scoring 16 points and grabbing 20 rebounds. Carrington scored 12 points, grabbed three rebounds, and dished out three assists.
The Panthers then went to compete in the prestigious Gonzaga’s DC Classic, in a three round tournament. The Panthers snuck past Coolidge DC, 64-61, on day one, then put away Philadelphia Catholic power Archbishop Wood, 64-46, in the semifinals, setting up a matchup with the hosts in the final.
The Panthers would suffer their first loss of the season, losing 59-56 to the Eagles. The Panthers had a chance to win – down one, but were called for a charge attempting the game-winner with 2.1 seconds to play. There were seven lead changes in the second half, and the margin was never larger than five points.
After a 17 point win over Loyola, the #1 Panthers hosted #2 Mt St Joe for the first of their two regular season meetings. The Panthers took the first meeting, 72-67, as Carrington scored a team-high 21 points, on 6-8 shooting from the field, and 7-7 at the line. Johnson scored 11 points and grabbed 10 rebounds, and Davis added 14 points.
The Panthers traveled to Columbia, South Carolina over the holidays to take part in the Chik-fil-A Classic. The Panthers lost their opener to Denver Prep CO, before bouncing back with two wins – over Legacy Early College SC, and Huntingtown St Joseph Prep WV.
Denver Prep featured the top center in the ‘23 class, Baye Fall. The Panthers had evened things up at 51 early in the fourth quarter, before Prep went on a 9-0 run. The Panthers nailed 13 three-pointers in the loss. Davis scored a team-high 20 points in the loss, as he did the following day in a 55-54 win over Legacy Early College. The Panthers led most of the way, before the Lions turned into a mail-biter late. The Panthers routed Huntingtown Prep, 74-49, in the consolation championship.
The Panthers began the new year with a 73-58 win over John Carroll, closing the game scoring the last 11 points, after clinging on to a four point lead. Davis led five Panthers double-digit scorers with 20 points. The Panthers rolled off four more wins to push to 20-2. Included in the four game run was a 63-56 win over Donda Academy, Kanye West’s school in Simi Valley, a first year prep school that filled its roster with top prospects across the country.
Next up was the DTLR Classic and Imhotep Charter of Philadelphia. The Panthers of St Frances came in ranked #14 by MaxPreps, while the Panthers from Imhotep came in at #23. Imhotep found separation in the second half, after a tight first half. The Panthers cut the deficit to two points in the fourth quarter, but never got closer. Junior Justin Edwards, with offers from Kentucky, Maryland, and many more, led Imhotep with 29 points. Lindsay led the Panthers with 26 points, while Davis added 18 points.
The Panthers followed that loss on Martin Luther King Day with ten straight victories, all over MIAA and BCL foes, including a 77-65 win over Mount Carmel at home, then a second win over Mt St Joe on their home court, 66-60. The Panthers pushed a nine point halftime lead over the Gaels to as many as 14 points, thanks to 11 straight points by Davis in the third quarter. Davis scored a game-high 23 points, while Lindsay added 22 points.
The Panthers went into the final week of the regular season with a 30-3 record, with a real possibility of setting the area record for wins in a season, an honor shared by the ‘20 Panthers and the ‘06 Mt St Joe Gaels, who both won 38 games. That wouldn’t come to fruition, as the Panthers lost to Mount Carmel in overtime on Monday, 75-72, then lost at John Carroll on Friday, 64-54.
Nonetheless, the Panthers captured their fifth straight BCL regular season crown, including a share in ‘19, becoming the first team to ever do so. The Panthers finished two games ahead of Mt St Joe in BCL play, at 12-2, and entered the post-season with a 31-5 record.
The Panthers quest for their sixth MIAA A tournament championship was stopped abruptly, after eight seed Gilman came back from a 21 point halftime lead to shock the one seed, 70-69. The Panthers had two chances at the rim in the final seconds for potential game-winners, but both missed the mark. The Panthers, who led 44-23 at halftime, had their 14 home game winning streak snapped. Carrington and Lamouthe shared scoring honors in the loss, with 18 points apiece.
The Panthers still had an opportunity to win their 11th BCL tournament title, and fourth in five seasons. The Panthers routed Calvert Hall in the quarterfinals, 76-45, then took out Spalding and Cam Whitmore in the semifinals, 76-54, using a 21-2 run in the first half to put the Cavaliers away. Lindsay led five Panthers in double figures with 17 points. Freshman Tyler Jackson added 13 points.
The win set up a third matchup with Mt St Joe in the finals, after the Panthers had beat the Gaels by five and six points in their two regular season meetings. The Panthers late season struggles reappeared, as the Gaels ran out to a 15 point lead in the first half, enough to hold off the Panthers for a 66-56 win. The Panthers came within four points in the fourth quarter (and five, twice), but never got closer. Lindsay and Lamothe were named to the all-tournament team.
The Panthers traveled to the Alhambra Catholic Invitational
Tournament and picked up an impressive win over WCAC champ Bishop McNamara on day one, 66-64, with Lindsay driving to the bucket and finishing with a game-winner with :00.8 to play. The Mustangs had tied the game with 3.7 seconds remaining. Lindsay finished with 18 points, and Carrington added 17 points.
The Panthers fell to DeMatha on day two, 71-58, three months after defeating the Stags. The Panthers took the third place game with a 64-61 victory over Long Island Lutheran, with Lindsay again producing the game-winning points in the final seconds. After getting fouled shooting beyond the arc with 2.6 seconds remaining, Lindsay drained all three foul shots, producing the final margin. Taion Robinson scored a team-high 13 points for the Panthers.
The Panthers finished with a 35-8 record and won the BCL regular season crown for the 12th time, and fifth season in a row. The Panthers won 34 games or more for the fourth straight full season in a row. Since the ‘17-18 season, through the ‘21-22 season, the Panthers won 68 of 75 games versus league opponents in league and tournament play.
The Panthers notched wins over the eventual Alhambra champion – DeMatha, the WCAC tournament winner – Bishop McNamara, Archbishop Wood PA, Coolidge DC, and the BCL champion – Mt St Joe, twice.
Lindsay was named to the All-Met first team, as well as the All-BCL first team, averaging 17 points, four rebounds, and two assists per game. Davis, a sophomore, was named to both the All-Met second team and the All-BCL second team. Carrington, a junior, was also named to the All-BCL second team.
Myles was named the BCL Coach of the Year for the third time in five seasons. Through 11 seasons at St Frances, Myles held a 309-95 overall record.
Notes;
- As of ‘22, Myles had led the Panthers to three BCL tournament titles and six BCL regular season crowns, producing a 312-95 (.767) record over 11 seasons. Myles holds the best win percentage in BCL league play among coaches that have coached in at least 120 league games, with a mark of .703 (114-33), and also leads in win percentage in BCL tournament play among coaches who have coached 20 tournament games, with a .692 (18-8) mark.
40 ‘12 John Carroll Patriots (30-8) Coach Tony Martin > #5 in the Sun, MIAA A tournament champions, BCL tournament runner-up, Alhambra 5th 2-1
Players
Jarred Jones 6’5 SR; All-Met 1st, All-BCL 1st, All-BCL Tournament, All-ACIT 2nd, 13.5p/6.7r/2.2s/1.4b (Loyola)
Rodney Elliott Jr 6’0 JR; All-BCL HM (UMBC)
Justin Jenifer 5’9 FR; All-BCL HM (Cincinnati)
Kamau Stokes 5’10 SO; All-BCL Tournament (Kansas State)
Michael Owona 6’7 JR; (Farleigh Dickinson / North Carolina A&T)
Lionel Owona 6’6 SO; (Franklin & Marshall)
Christian Owona 6’7 JR; (Northern New Mexico)
Tony Martin’s John Carroll Patriots took the BCL by storm in its very first season in one of the best leagues in the country, much like their three direct predecessors had, but the Patriots were the only one to win 33 games, and sweep the MIAA A regular season and tournament championships, and the BCL regular season and tournament crowns.
St Maria Goretti became the first school to join the original six BCL members in the ‘84-85 season, and won the tournament in their very first full season. The Gaels would win their first regular season championship the following season, their second season in the league. St Frances joined the BCL in the ‘88-89 season, and won their first tournament title in their second season, and first regular season crown in their third.
Spalding came next, and like St Frances, won the tournament in their second year, and won their first regular season league title in their third season. The Patriots , too, made a grand entrance.
Martin was entering his seventh season at John Carroll, after leading Spalding for three seasons from ‘96-97 to ‘98-99, after assisting at Mt St Joe and Cardinal Gibbons. It was Martin’s ‘99 Cavaliers team that won the tournament title in their second season in the league, and now his Patriots had won it in its very first.
While Martin lost his pair of 6’0 All-Met guards from the ‘10-11 championship team, Malcolm McMillian and Ronald Scott to graduation, he did return his next six players in the rotation of that 33-5 team, and was adding the top rated rising freshman in the area.
Jarred Jones, a 6’5 senior, was ready to take over the roles of leader and star, while junior Rodney Elliott Jr, sophomore Kamau Stokes, and freshman Justin Jenifer gave the Patriots three talented guards. The Owona brothers, Michael, Christian, and Lionel, gave the Patriots size and strength. The former pair were 6’7 juniors, and the latter a 6’6 sophomore. Martin had a talented cast, albeit a rather young one, with just one senior among the top seven players.
Mount St Joe were young but stacked, led by 6’3 junior guard Kameron Williams, 6’5 junior forward Lavon Long, and 6’4 sophomore guard Phil Booth. The Gaels were coming off their 14th 20-win season in 15 seasons. There was talent at St Frances, too, with senior guard Daquan Cook returning, and junior transfer Tevon Saddler, a scoring machine coming from Aberdeen, coming in. Calvert Hall had two senior leaders in Denzel Richardson and Justin Beck, and Spalding boasted senior Greg Brown and junior Elijah Potts Jr.
The Patriots began the season with seven straight victories, including a pair of BCL league wins over St Maria Goretti and Loyola, before competing in the Gonzaga DC Classic, a three day fest with thick competition. The Pats suffered their first loss of the season on opening night of the tournament, losing to Sagemont FL in overtime, 74-70. The Patriots led by two points in overtime, before the Lions scored the last six points of the game. Stokes scored a team-high 20 points, hitting four three-pointers.
The Patriots rebounded with a 67-41 blowout win over Pittsburgh’s Central Catholic, limiting the Vikings to only 16 second half points. The Pats closed out the tournament with a 63-38 rout of Bishop McNamara to finish 2-1 in the tournament. The Patriots scored the first eight points of the game, and limited the Mustangs to three first quarter points and never looked back.
The Patriots continued to roll with a 63-57 win over St Frances, in their first meeting with the #3 Panthers. The Patriots controlled throughout – holding an eight point lead after the first quarter, a ten point lead at intermission, before building a 14 point fourth quarter lead. The Patriots went to the free throw line 46 times, converting 33. Elliott Jr scored a team-high 16 points, while Stokes added 13 points and four assists. The Patriots followed that with a narrow 41-39 win over Mount Carmel, overcoming 26 turnovers to move to 10-1.
The Patriots suffered their first league loss just before the Christmas break, losing to Spalding, 47-45, with the Cavaliers producing a game-winning three-pointer.
Over the holidays, the Pats headed to North Charleston, South Carolina, to play in the Piggly Wiggly Roundball Classic. The Patriots blew out Manning SC, 72-41, in the first round, then put away defending tournament champion, Wando SC (9-1) 57-43, in the second, setting up an all-Maryland final in Charleston, with the Patriots and 11-1 Bullis, of Potomac, facing off. The Patriots fell to the Bulldogs in the final, 70-63, dropping them to 14-3. Jenifer scored a team-high 23 points in the loss.
After wins over Calvert Hall and McDonogh, the Patriots lost two games in a row, the first to first place Mt St Joe, 69-57, the second to St Maria Goretti, 69-67, in Hagerstown. The Patriots then put together a seven game win streak, taking them through the first week of February, including a second win over St Frances, 70-61, and a revenge win over Spalding, 46-43.
In the win over the #3 Panthers, Jenifer scored nine of his 19 points in the third quarter, including a buzzer-beating three-pointer to give the Pats a 15 point lead. The Patriots came back from six points down in the fourth quarter to beat the Cavs.
The Patriots then hosted first place Mt St Joe, with a chance to take the lead in the MIAA A standings, and tie the Gaels in the loss column in the BCL standings. The Patriots led nearly the entire game, until the Gaels Jaylen Adams hit two free throws to tie the game at 39 and send the game in overtime, and the defending champs saw a win slip away to the Gaels, losing 49-46. Jones led the Patriots with 20 points. The Pats hit just 13 of 20 free throws, while the Gaels nailed 20 of 23.
The Patriots closed the regular season with a 59-42 victory over St Louis Catholic power De Smet Jesuit MO, led by Butler commit Nolan Berry, to go into the post-season at 24-6. Stokes led the Patriots, producing 16 points, four assists, three steals, and three rebounds.
The Patriots began the defense of their first MIAA A tournament championship with a third win over St Frances, 52-47, in the semifinals, notching their seventh straight win over the Panthers, and denying them of a fourth straight MIAA A title game appearance. The Patriots held a six point advantage midway through the fourth quarter before the Panthers clawed back to cut their deficit to two points, 49-47, with 24 seconds remaining.
Jones hit one of two free throws, and the Panthers potential game-tying three-point attempt hit off the back of the rim into Jenifer’s hands, who found Elliott downcourt for a game-clinching layup. Jenifer, the freshman, led the Patriots with 18 points.
The victory set up a third matchup with Mt St Joe in the final. The Patriots saw a late fourth quarter lead evaporate in their second meeting with the #2 Gaels, an overtime loss. The third time with the Gaels would be a charm, as the Patriots defended their title with a 44-41 win. Trailing by one point with 6:42 to play, the Patriots went on a 7-0 run and held the Gaels scoreless for nearly four minutes. Jones led the Patriots with 15 points, five rebounds, and three blocked shots, and helped limit Gaels star Kam Williams to five points.
Their defense of their BCL crown began with a wild 58-56 triple-overtime victory over St Maria Goretti in the quarterfinal, needing three-pointers by both Jenifer and Jones to force two of the three overtimes. Stokes driving layup with 4.6 seconds in the third overtime was the game-winner.
In the semifinals, the Patriots pulled out their eighth straight win over St Frances, when Jones hit a free throw with :00.3 left on the clock, to break a tie at 41 and give the Pats a 42-41 win. Stokes scored a team-high 14 points, while Jones added 12 points. Stokes potential game-winner was off the mark, but the Panthers were called for traveling after rebounding the miss, giving the Patriots the ball with :00.6 remaining.
The Pats, inbounding from the baseline, found Jones underneath, who was fouled. Jones made his first attempt, but it was taken off the board as one referee said he had a referee timeout. Jones missed the next, but hit the second to give the Pats the win.
The Patriots quest for a back-to-back MIAA/BCL sweep fell short, losing their fourth matchup of the year with Mt St Joe, 52-39, after relinquishing a ten point third quarter lead. The Gaels outscored the defending champions 33-10 over the last 14 minutes. Stokes, who was named to the all-tournament team along with Jones, led the Patriots with 16 points.
The Patriots went to the Alhambra Catholic Invitational Tournament and won two of three, losing to 30-1 St Benedict’s NJ, 69-65, on day one, with Jones scoring 17 points and Jenifer scoring 15 points in the loss. The Gray Bees came into the matchup ranked #5 in the country.
The Patriots went on to beat Benedictine VA, who lost to DeMatha by two, then toppled Mt St Joe for the second time in their last three meetings, 72-62. Jones scored 30 points in his final high school game, on 12-14 shooting, and added six rebounds. The Patriots hit their first 11 of 12 shots, and built a 26-12 lead. Jones was named to the all-tournament second team.
Martin’s Patriots finished 30-8 and were MIAA A back-to-back champions, producing back-to-back 30 win seasons. The Pats beat St Frances four times, won two of three from Mt St Joe in post-season tournaments, and notched wins over Central Catholic PA, Bishop McNamara, 23-3 Wando SC, and 27-7 Benectine VA.
Jones was named to both the Sun’s All-Met first team and the All-BCL first team, averaging 13.5 points, 6.7 rebounds, 2.2 steals, and 1.4 blocked shots per game. Both Elliott and Jenifer, the freshman, were named to the All-BCL honorable mention team.
Notes;
- Jones played four full seasons at Loyola, the first two under Jimmy Patsos, before the coach heft for Siena. After playing limited time in 33 games as a freshman, Jones averaged 8.6 points, 4.5 rebounds, 1.5 steals, and 1.4 blocked shots in 23.6 minutes per game for the 23 win Greyhounds. After a redshirt year, Jones came back to start in 25 of his 26 games the following season, averaging 13.3 points and 7.2 rebounds per game. In his senior season, Jones averaged 14.7 points and 6.9 rebounds per contest, both ranking second on the team, adding 1.9 assists, 1.4 steals, and 1.1 blocked shots per game. In 124 games, Jones scored 1,188 points, 622 rebounds, 140 assists, 135 steals, and 126 blocked shots, in four years as a Greyhound.
- Jenifer transferred to Milford Mill for his final three years of high school, becoming a three-time All-Met and winning a state championship in his sophomore season. Jenifer played four seasons at Cincinnati for Mick Cronin, a four year period that saw the Bearcats win 111 games, and play in three NCAA tournaments. After limited duty in 62 games over his first two seasons, Jenifer started in 33 of 36 games in his junior season, averaging 4.8 points and 2.5 assists in 19.6 minutes for the 31 win Bearcats. In his senior season, Jenifer started in all of his 34 games, averaging 8.6 points and 2.9 assists, for the 28 win Bearcats. Jenifer scored 629 points and dished out 291 assists in 132 games as a Bearcat.
- Stokes transferred to Dunbar as a junior, winning a state championship with the Poets, then transferred to City College for his senior year, where he helped the Knights win a state championship, go undefeated, and finish with the #18 ranking in the country. After a year after Fork Union Academy, Stokes played four seasons at Kansas State, and finished among five Wildcats all-time top 10 lists, including assists (415 – 3rd), 3-point field goals (207 – 4th), steals (135 – 5th), and minutes (3,603 – 8th). Stokes started in 20 of 21 games as a freshman, before suffering a season-ending injury, after averaging 9.4 points, 2.8 rebounds, and 2.7 assists per game. Coming back from injury, Stokes averaged 11.7 points and 4.1 assists per game in 35 games as a sophomore. As a junior, Stokes helped lead the Wildcats to the ‘Elite 8’ as a 9 seed, before getting upset by 11 seed Loyola in the quarterfinals. Stokes averaged 9.0 points, 3.4 assists, 2.5 rebounds, and 1.2 steals for the 25 win Cats. Stokes scored 13 points and dished out four assists in the loss to the Ramblers. Stokes averaged 11.0 points, 3.3 assists, 2.8 rebounds, and 1.3 steals per game as a senior. Stokes scored 1,242 points as a Wildcat.
HS Sports Analyst
Willie, a native of Chicago, and now a resident of Columbia for 40 years, is an educator at Homewood Center in Howard County, after spending 12 years as a real estate agent, following 10 years of running a small men’s retail company. Willie has contributed to Max Preps, Digital Sports, and Varsity Sports Network. Willie has produced MPSSAA top 25 rankings for both football and basketball for 15 years, across various platforms. From a large ‘sports family’, Willie’s brother Mike led Reservoir High to the 3A basketball state title game in 2018, while his nephew Anthony serves as the Indianapolis Colts College Scouting Coordinator.