Mount Saint Joseph basketball rolls to BCL semifinals

Mount Saint Joseph basketball’s tournament title hunting resumed in Friday’s Baltimore Catholic League quarterfinal against Calvert Hall.

The No. 1 Gaels, fresh off Sunday’s Maryland Interscholastic Athletic Association A Conference crown, scored on their first four possessions Friday, built an early double-digit advantage and coasted to the semifinals with a 81-56 win over the Cardinals at Goucher College.

Senior Jordan Brathwaite led three Gaels in double figures with 21 points as Mount Saint Joseph improved to 36-4 on the season. It will meet No. 5 Archbishop Spalding in the semifinals at 6 p.m. In Saturday’s other semifinal, No. 2 Mount Carmel takes on No. 3 St. Frances at 8 p.m. The championship game is set for 3 p.m. Sunday.

The Gaels, who have won 10 straight, looked comfortable immediately and kept it that way Friday. Trailing 2-0, they scored on their first four possessions. After Brathwaite opened with a 3-pointer, Joe Green followed with an inside basket and then a steal and a lay-up before Ryan Truitt completed the 9-0 run with another steal for an easy basket.

Brathwaite, Green and Truitt each scored eight points in the first quarter as the Gaels enjoyed a 26-11 advantage that increased to 44-24 at the half.

“It’s win or go home,” Brathwaite said. “This is it for the seniors and everybody on the team, so we want to leave our mark, come out here and play hard. Every team in this league is good and we just want to come out here and win. For us, it’s about winning.”

Tyonne Farrell added 14 points and Truitt had 12 as the Gaels were able to empty their bench with a comfortable lead in the closing minutes.

Calvert Hall, which got a game-high 30 points from senior Brendan Johnson and 18 from Tyrin Bizzelle, finishes with a 16-20 record.

Other boys basketball scores: No. 5 Archbishop Spalding 82, St. Maria Goretti 79:

One team continued its late-season surge while the other played its storied program’s final game.

Archbishop Spalding, behind a combined 49 points from guards Kam Carter and Jaylin Sykes, claimed an 82-79 win over Goretti on Friday in the last of the BCL quarterfinals.

Spalding improved to 23-9 and will meet Mount Saint Joseph in a rematch of last week’s MIAA A Conference championship game, which the Gaels won, 57-52.

In a tight game Friday, the Cavaliers had more answers at both ends. Sykes hit a driving layup and Michael Lonergan made four free throws in the final 21 seconds to seal the win.

Goretti, which will close its doors at the end of the academic year, finishes with a 17-16 record. The Gaels, who won four BCL tournament titles and five regular-season crowns in their 40 years in the league, didn’t go down without a fight. They made the program’s final basket when Keyan Proctor hit a buzzer-beating 3-pointer in the left corner to cap the scoring.

As the Goretti players walked out of the gym for the very last time, they were greeted by applause from their fans.

“All year long they had every opportunity and reason to quit but they didn’t,” coach Sidney McCray said. “These nine guys are the heart and soul of the Goretti basketball program and it showed tonight. We got down a couple times and got back up, and they continued to fight through. They definitely made us proud and I couldn’t ask for a better group with the situation that is going on at

Goretti.”

Carter had 25 points, Sykes finished with 24 and Malik Washington added 17 for the Cavaliers. Goretti had five players reach double figures with Cole Trn finishing with a team-high 17 points.

“I think it was our energy on defense, we got key rebounds, key stops,” Sykes said. “We got some key turnovers that helped us win the game.”

Spalding coach Josh Pratt, who coached now-defunct Towson Catholic’s final season in 2009, praised the contributions Goretti made in the BCL.

“It’s a shame honestly, a traditional power house in the BCL,” he said. “Cokey [Robertson] is a legendary coach and [McCray] does a great job. They did a great job this year and for them to beat them three times — I was really worried about that. I just wish they were still here.”

No. 3 St. Frances 76, John Carroll 62:

The Panthers (24-12) enjoyed a balanced performance with four players reaching double figures led by Jordan Downs’ 23-point effort. Junior forward Trent Egbiremolen scored 17 points, Josiah LeGree had 16 and Jasiah Cannady added 15 in the win.

John Carroll, which got a team-high 20 points from sophomore Aidan Able, finished its season with a 16-19 mark.

No. 2 Mount Carmel 63, No. 12 Loyola Blakefield 46:

Senior Andrew Dixon and Tristen Wilson shared team-high honors with 15 points each as the Cougars (25-11) took charge early to advance to Saturday’s semifinals.

Loyola Blakefield, which got a team-high 19 points from Mason Ellison, wrapped up its season with a 20-15 mark. Dons senior J’Lin Brown closed out his career with his 1,000th point in the game’s closing seconds.

Girls basketball Oakland Mills 73, Atholton 43:

It took just four minutes for Oakland Mills to put its stamp on Friday’s 3A South Region II semifinal against visiting Atholton.

Behind a smothering defense that forced five turnovers out of the Raiders’ first 10 possessions, along with an attack-the-rim mentality on offense, Oakland Mills raced out to a 12-0 lead and never looked back en route to a convincing victory.

“I was very proud of the way we came out, and our practice has always been on defense and letting the offense handle itself,” said Oakland Mills junior guard Destiny Macharia, who scored a game-high 24 points. “We know what we do on the defensive end, like having our hands up and staying in front of the ball … that’s what gets us going.”

Macharia was joined in double-figures scoring by teammates Chloe Grenway (20 points, including four 3-pointers) and Jeriah Shipp (11 points). The Scorpions avenged a regional playoff loss to Atholton last year.

Oakland Mills (16-7) advances to play in the region championship game next Wednesday against top-seeded River Hill, which defeated Centennial in Friday’s other regional semifinal.

— Brent Kennedy, for The Baltimore Sun Howard 43, Glenelg 39:

The Lions are the defending Class 3A state champions and have won eight Howard County titles in the past 10 years. They’ve won 70 games over the past three seasons. This year, however, is a new group as the team lost its top three scorers from last year’s title team.

Despite that roster fluctuation, the Lions knew the pressure of maintaining their winning tradition remained. In moments after losses, the program’s two seniors, Oluwadamilola Iyanu Daniel and

Grace Henderson, have been pivotal.

In Friday night’s Class 3A South Region I semifinal, the top-seeded Lions’ resolve was tested as they faced an early fourth-quarter deficit against No. 4 Glenelg. But when it mattered the most, Howard delivered with a mix of new and old.

Sophomore guard Brynn Bartlett, who spent much of the year on junior varsity, connected on the go-ahead layup with just inside a minute remaining. Bartlett and Riley Watson hit free throws to close out the win.

Howard will host Wednesday’s regional foul against No. 2 seed Chesapeake-AA, a winner over Mt. Hebron on Friday night.

— Jacob Steinberg Glen Burnie 45, Meade 27:

Starr Munford remembered what happened last time her Gophers were on Meade’s court.

The defending Class 4A state champions walked in and swallowed an early 48-40 loss from a team it had no problem beating last year.

“Yeah,” Munford said. “I knew I had to get that win. We weren’t together then. Today? We worked hard.”

The Gophers sophomore felt the win growing around her the moment she stepped on the floor. With her, Glen Burnie dominated in the third quarter and knocked its neighbor out of the Class 4A East Region I playoffs. It was the teams’ third meeting, but a far more conclusive one compared with the Gophers’ seven-point win at home last time out.

The Gophers know their region final opponent, Crofton, which will host them at 6 p.m. Wednesday, beat them by 14 last time. They don’t care.

“People think we’re not good anymore without those starting five, but personally? We’re good,” said Munford, who scored a team-high 14 points. “We’re building up the legacy, trying to get to where we was.”

Towson 46, Catonsville 37:

Towson trailed by four points at halftime, but the host Generals sped up the pace with increased intensity and a trapping press that forced 15 second-half turnovers on the way to victory in a Class 3A North Region I semifinal.

Senior Lucia Brino scored 13 of her game-high 15 points in the second half to lead the Generals, who also got nine points and nine rebounds from Leila Franklin and nine points and three steals from Sydney Swift.

Catonsville was led by freshman guard Kaitlyn Welsh, who had 12 points and 13 rebounds. Emily Bartlett chipped in 11 and Jaynie Simpkins added seven.

“The seniors didn’t want it to be our last game so we really brought the energy into the second half,” Brino said. “When we were down at halftime I was really scared, but I knew our team, we were going to make it. I couldn’t imagine another ending.”

Brino scored six points and Sophia Plerzoch and Audri Adams each made 3-pointers, with Adams’ tying the game at 28 with 2:05 left in the third quarter. After Welsh and Franklin exchanged baskets, Brino hit two free throws in the final minute and the Generals never trailed again.

— Craig Clary

Hereford 58, Randallstown 12

New Town 53, Carver A&T 51

Southern 66, Poolesville 31 South River 59, Arundel 21 Chesapeake-AA 42, Mt. Hebron 35

Reservoir 49, Laurel 31 Edgewood 67, Bel Air 40 North Harford 49, Rising Sun 38

South Carroll 62, Smithsburg 54

Linganore 65, Westminster 34

Oakdale 34, Manchester Valley 20