St. Frances upsets No. 1 Mt. St. Joe

Panthers erase 15-point deficit to stun Gaels; No. 6 Lake Clifton boys top City

St. Frances found a bright spot in a season in which they missed the Maryland Interscholastic Athletic Association A Conference tournament for the first time since 2004.

The host Panthers (13-16, 5-10) became the third team this year, the others being St. Maria Goretti and Calvert Hall, to beat No. 1 Mount Saint Joseph. St. Frances rallied from a15-point deficit to force overtime and win, 69-67, in basketball Friday night.

Elijah Epps made a 3-pointer with 57 seconds left to force overtime. Epps fin- ished with 20 points, nine rebounds and three blocks. Eral Penn also scored 20 points for St. Frances and freshman Adrian Baldwin and Jordan Toles combined for 23 points and 13 rebounds.

The Gaels (28-3, 15-0) were without Jalen Smith, who was injured before the game.

Mount Saint Joseph “dominated the first half,” according to St. Frances assistant coach Damon Fisher. But a switch to man-to-man defense sparked the rally. Coach Nick Myles switched the defense back to zone in the final minute of overtime and the Gaels did not get a shot off on the last two possessions.

NO. 6 LAKE CLIFTON 46, CITY 33: The host Knights (7-10) managed the clock and attempted good shots to take a first half lead before the Lakers (17-4) rallied.

Lake Clifton went on a 17-5 run in the third quarter to gain control. Andre Rafus had 14 points for the Lakers.

“They played good basketball in the first half, but we played better basketball in the second half,” Lake Clifton coach Herman “Tree” Harried said.

EDMONDSON 77, BEN FRANKLIN 60: Teon Gardner scored a game-high 29 points and the host Red Storm (13-3) used switching defenses to keep the Bayhawks (5-9) off balance.

Ben Franklin led after one, but Edmondson started trapping the ball and scoring easy layups to take control.

ATHOLTON 53, RESERVOIR 50: Skyler Rankinconverted a layup while being fouled with one second left on the clock to provide the deciding points as the host Raiders (7-13, 4-5 Howard) beat the Gators (14-5, 6-3).

Girls

NO. 5 WESTERN 66, DOUGLASS 6: Martesha Smith had 16 points and Jasmine Waltonscored the1,000th of her career to lift the host Doves (15-3) over the Ducks (1-10).

CHESAPEAKE-AA 47, NORTHEAST 19: Hallee Persell (18 points, 18 rebounds) and Mikaela Gray (10 points, 13 rebounds) led the host Cougars (17-3) over the Eagles (1-17).

MARYVALE 58, MOUNT CARMEL 49: The host Lions (10-10) held the Cougars (5-16) to seven points in the fourth quarter to win in the opening round of the Interscholastic Athletic Association of Maryland B Conference tournament.

Claire Neff scored 27 points for Maryvale, which faces Glenelg Country, a 49-34 winner over St. Timothy’s, on Tuesday.