Mount St. Joe, St. Frances beaten

Maryland-bound Jalen Smith had 29 points and 10 rebounds and Kendall McMillan had 10 points but, No. 3 Mount Saint Joseph fell, 74-67, to Gonzaga (D.C.) on Thursday in the opening round of the Alhambra Catholic Invitational basketball tournament at the Cordts Physical Education Center in Frostburg.

The Gaels (30-7) led 42-36 in the first half before the Eagles (29-7) started a scoring run over the first four minutes of the second half, according to Mount Saint Joseph coach Pat Clatchey.

“They had a very balanced scoring effort with double-figure scoring from four guys,” Clatchey said.

Gonzaga is the top-ranked team in Washington by USA Today’s Super 25 poll.

The Gaels have struggled in tournament play after falling short in both the Maryland Interscholastic Athletic Association and Baltimore Catholic League tournaments.

Mount Saint Joseph will face No.1 St. Frances in today’s second round at 5:45 p.m.

BISHOP O’CONNELL (VA.) 82, NO. 1 ST. FRANCES 73: The Knights ( 29-8) outscored the Panthers (35-6), 45-39, in the second half to win in the first round of the Alhambra Catholic Invitational tournament.

DEMATHA 59, ST. MARIA GORETTI 48: The Stags (30-5), ranked No. 17 nationally in USA Today’s Super 25 poll, beat the Gaels (28-9) in the first round of the Alhambra Catholic Invitational Tournament.

DeMatha is ranked No. 1 and Goretti is No. 5 in Maryland by USA Today.