Hot start helps Mt. St. Joe coast past Gilman
Bishop scores 31 for Gaels; Lake Clifton blasts New Era; NDP handles Bryn Mawr
Senior James Bishop scored 11 of his game-high 31 points to get No. 3 Mount St. Joseph off to a hot start and the host Gaels never let up in a 93-50 victory over No. 8 Gilman in the Maryland Interscholastic Athletic Association A Conference opener on Wednesday night.
“I just try to come out and set the tone, be aggressive and my team needs that, so that’s just what I come out and try to do,” said Bishop, who will play at LSU next season.
The game was tied 10-10 when Bishop fed Antonio Hamlin for a 3-pointer with1:40 left in the quarter to ignite an 8-0 run to end the quarter for the Gaels (5-1).
Bishop fast-break layup and three-pointer with 16 seconds left in the quarter and early bucket in the second pushed the lead to 20-10.
Gilman (1-2) got within six twice in the quarter, but the Gaels outscored them19-5 in the final four minutes and took a 43-23 halftime lead.
Junior shooting guard Tyler Brelsford (16 points) hit three 3-pointers in the span of 70 seconds during the stretch.
“He’s a great shooter without me, but when I got it going early that just brings energy to the whole team,” Bishop said. “After that, everybody was hitting.”
Bishop added 12 in the third quarter and broke the 30-point barrier less than three minutes into the fourth.
“When James is locked in and focused on both ends, he’s a really good player,” St. Joe coach Pat Clatchey said. “He can just score so many ways. He scores almost effortlessly.”
Sophomore point guard Ausar Crawley scored 11 of his 16 points in the second half and Clatchey praised the entire backcourt, which included freshman Hamlin, junior Chandler Johnson and senior Wes Chairs off the bench.
“We think our guards are really the strength of our team,” Clatchey said. “They are multiple ball handlers, guys who can pass, guys who can make shots.”
Guards are also Gilman’s strength and they were led by senior point guard Jalen Rucker, junior shooting guard Jordan Foster (15 points each) and sophomore wing Malik Missouri (14).
“He (Rucker) is a really good player and the kid Missouri is a really good player,” Clatchey said. “We just tried to rotate different guys on Rucker.”
Bishop also took pride in his team’s defense.
“We knew they had good guards, so we had to get low to the ball, play good outside defense and keep them out of the lane as much as possible and we came out and executed,” he said.
NO. 9 LAKE CLIFTON 59, NEW ERA 20: Armon Harried scored a game-high 20 points to lead the host Lakers (1-0) past the Jaguars (0-1).
NO. 12 MCDONOGH 79, JOHN CARROLL 58: David Brown scored a game-high 18 points and Jared Billups had17 points to lead the visiting Eagles (4-0, 1-0 MIAA A Conference Black Division) past the Patriots (0-4, 0-1).
LOYOLA BLAKEFIELD 56, GLENEG COUNTRY 54: Brendan Fox threw a long pass to Mitch Fischer who made the buzzer-beating layup for the win. The Dons improved to 4-3, 1-0 MIAA A Conference Red Division and the Dragons fell to 3-1, 1-1.
Loyola led by as many as nine in the third quarter before Glenelg Country came back. Loyola’s Conner Hepting made two free throws with 18 seconds left to extend a Loyola lead to three before Glenelg made a 3-pointer with four seconds left to tie.
Fischer and Noah Charles (Glenelg Country) led all scorers with 19 points.
BEN FRANKLIN 57, ACADEMY FOR COLLEGE AND CAREER EXPLORATION 34: Khalil Kosh scored 16 points to lead the Bayhawks (1-0) past the Eagles (0-1). Ben Franklin led 32-16 in the first half.
EDMONDSON 81, DOUGLASS 65: Keith Bolden scored a game-high 21 points to lead the Red Storm (1-0) past the host Ducks (0-1). Edmondson faces Digital Harbor on Friday.
SEVERN 78, SAINTS PETER & PAUL 22: AJ Burch scored a game-high 26 points and the host Admirals (2-2) routed the Sabres (1-1).
Burch scored eight points during the opening 15-0 run and had 19 points by halftime before playing sparingly in the second half.
“A lot of people are doubting us from the outside,” Burch said. “I feel like we know what we have and what we can do, so we’re a confident group.”
“We lost a ton of firepower in LJ and Jermaine, and we wish those guys well,” first-year coach Mike Glasby said. “I think that our guys returning are really excited about the opportunity they have this year to take on a leadership role with the team.”
Glasby, who played at Bullis and for a short time at the Naval Academy, has roughly 10 years coaching experience. He most recently was an assistant coach at Sidwell Friends.
—Bob Hough,
Baltimore Sun Media Group