Archbishop Spalding rallies in final minutes
For the Archbishop Spalding and Calvert Hall boys basketball teams, both young and growing, every game is a chance to continue laying the foundation.
Wednesday night at Calvert Hall, it was the visiting Cavaliers who added a valuable building block.
After trailing for most of the game, the visitors scored the final eight points — including a game-tying basket and two free throws in the final three seconds from freshman guard TJ Moultrie — to secure a 60-58 win.
Sophomore forward Malik Washington scored eight of his team-high 18 points in the fourth quarter as Spalding improved to 11-10 overall, 4-5 in the Baltimore Catholic League and 5-4 in the Maryland Interscholastic Athletic Association A Conference.
Calvert Hall, which got 22 points from junior Brendan Johnson and a 20-point, 13-rebound effort from senior forward Jonah Biggers, fell to 16-10 overall, 1-7 in the BCL and 5-5 in the MIAA.
Both teams played without their starting point guards with Spalding’s LeTre Yawn and Calvert Hall’s Tyrin Bizelle both ill.
The Cavaliers, with only three starters on the roster, have been on the wrong side of several tight games this season. Wednesday’s closing minutes showed growth.
“We have some young guys and kind of had to throw them in the fire and, honestly, it came down to one or two possessions,” Spalding coach Josh Pratt said. “We’ve been there before and we’re learning how to win games and finish games. It’s a tribute to the kids.”
Behind Biggers’ strong inside play throughout and a big second half from Johnson, the Cardinals appeared poised to pull off the win, leading 56-52 with 2:34 to play before Biggers fouled out. The home team was able to pad the lead to 58-52 on two free throws from Johnson with 2:13 to play, but the Cavaliers clamped down on defense and found answers at the other end.
Washington, who scored eight straight points for the Cavaliers in the fourth quarter, hit a free throw and then drove inside for a basket to make it 58-55 with 56 seconds left.
Moultrie converted a teammate’s midcourt steal into a three-point play with a strong drive to the basket to tie the game at 58 with 42 seconds left.
A Cardinals turnover gave the ball back to the Cavaliers with 26 seconds left. With time running down, the ball found Moultrie at the top of the key. He soon worked his way down the lane and was fouled with three seconds to play. After sinking both free throws, Johnson’s midcourt heave at the buzzer was off the mark for the Cardinals.
“The last play, I knew they were going to switch, so I was going to have the mismatch and then I knew I could get downhill,” Moultrie said.
“Throughout the whole game, it was a dogfight. Everybody kept fighting and everybody played together and it just happened to be me to make the [plays at the end]. Everybody played together and we fought back.”
Washington, also Spalding’s standout quarterback on the MIAA A Conference championship football team, showed strong leadership down the stretch in helping bring home the resilient win.
“We’re young, and we started off not really finishing games how we should, and I feel like we’re kind of finding our stride now where we know if we’re up five or down five with five minutes left, we feel like we can win the game,” he said.
The Cardinals, who are putting in the hard work during practice and games, are still learning how to close out games under second-year coach Gary Neal. This lost chance was tough to take.
“It was a tough one. My guys played hard, we just came up short,” Neal said. “Spalding is well-coached, and they were able to finish the game. For us, it’s a learning process, and we have to continue to push forward and get that winning culture back. So this is part of it. Not taking anything away from Spalding, but this is a game that we should have won. At home, a BCL game — it would have been great for the kids, but we just came up short.”
Both teams return to the court Friday night with 7 p.m. league games: Spalding hosts Loyola Blakefield, while Calvert Hall visits Mount Saint Joseph.
CH — Johnson 22, Biggers 20, Tinch 7, Arauwou 2, Wilburn 3, Crawford 4. Totals: 22 7-10 58
— Washington 18, Farley 6, Moultrie 12, Williamson 11, Newton 8, Sykes 3, Hoyle 2. Totals: 19 16-22 60
CH, 25-23