MIAA Basketball Playoff Preview
Mount Carmel and St. Frances earn top seeds in the A; Severn and St. Paul's capture first round byes in the B; Saints Peter & Paul is the top-seed in the C
by Nelson Coffin
Our Lady of Mount Carmel (25-10, 16-2 Black Division) and Saint Frances Academy (25-5, 15-2 Red) earned the top seeds in the eight-team A Conference basketball playoffs that begin Tuesday at the higher seeds and conclude at 5 p.m on Feb. 22 at UMBC’s Chesapeake Employers Insurance Arena.
The Cougars will host Boys’ Latin (7-18, 4-13 Red) in one quarterfinal while the Baltimore Panthers welcome St. Vincent Pallotti’s Laurel Panthers (15-11, 9-9 Black) on the other side of the bracket.
The Archbishop Spalding (19-10, 12-5 Red)-Mount St. Joseph (28-6, 15-3 Black) battle and a showdown between Glenelg Country School (15-7, 12-6 Black) and John Carroll (22-8, 12-5 Red) round out the opening of the postseason after another busy week of MIAA action on the hardwood that included the following games last week:
Quick-starting John Carroll opened its 62-59 verdict over St. Frances Academy on a sizzling 11-0 run before the Panthers (30-6, 11-2), eventually rallied to take a 59-57 lead in the final minute. Aidan Able’s five-point spree over the final 11.2 seconds sealed the deal for the Patriots.
Able (34 points), Andrew Clark (10) and Parrls Lee (10) paced John Carroll while Terence Jones III (20) and Carter Fisk (19) were most productive for the Panthers.
The Patriots then dropped a narrow 73-72 decision to Glenelg Country, despite heroics from Able (21), Lee (19) and Clark (17).
Spalding grabbed control in the second half of a 67-52 verdict over Mount Carmel with Kam Carter (24), Colt Busse (15) and Nash Avery (10) more than offset an 11-point effort by Tristen Wilson before falling to St. Frances, 66-63. Clutch free throws by Anthony Smith and McCoy in the waning seconds of regulation proved to be the difference for the Panthers.
Jones III (18), Fisk (13), Smith (13) and Mason Glover (9) did just enough to hold off the efforts of Kam Carter (18) Avery (17) and Bogard (15).
Spalding (19-12) defeated Gilman, 96-78, with Moe Lonergan (19), Busse (14), Wilson (14) and Anthony Buchman (12) trending upward.
St. Joe’s 74-47 triumph over St. Mary’s extended its winning streak to eight after bolting to a commanding 22-point halftime advantage.
The Gaels were led by Saxton Simley (17), BJ Ranson (14) and Aaron Early Jr. (14) while the Saints (9-23, 1-11 BCL) countered with Chisom Eze (11), Ezra Rich (9) and and Ayden Riley (9).
St. Joe continued its winning ways with a 71-58 toppling of McDonogh behind Ranson (26, 14-14 free throws), Simley (15), Chauncey Word (13) and Early Jr. (10).
The Gaels then captured their 10th straight, an 88-66 victory over St. Vincent Pallotti behind the efforts of Ranson (26) and Simley (11). St. Joe was then upended by Mount Carmel, 66-61, on Sunday.
Tristen Wilson (20) and Junior Mancho (17) helped to garner the victory with Simley (24) and Ranson (23) standing tall for the Gaels.
The Cougars not only snapped a 10-game Mount St. Joseph winning streak, it also earned a Black Division crown.
Calvert Hall snapped its three-game losing streak with a 70-51 victory at St. Mary’s behind Ellis Johnson (22), Damir Tucker (17) and Cameron Wood (12). Gavin Johnson (15), Ezra Rich (12 ) and Noah Cerny (10) provided most of the push-back for the Saints.
The Cardinals then fell just short to Mount Carmel, 52-48, after taking a one-point halftime lead over the defending A Conference champs, who relied on Gage Howard (16), Wilson (13) and Kiyen Alexander (11) to overcome a stout defensive effort. Wood (19) paced Calvert Hall in the scoring column.
The Cardinals (14-20, 5-13 A Black) then handled McDonogh, 63-50, with Wood (26) and Adam Solomon (15) in high-production mode.
Brant Hall Jr.'s bucket with six seconds remaining in the fourth quarter and subsequent free throw helped Loyola Blakefield (7-20, 4-13 A Red) to a 55-54 win over playoff-bound Boys’ Latin. The Dons’ 19-9 closing run sealed the deal with Ayo Olofintila (22 points, 11 rebounds) and Colin Clevenger (10 points) contributing significantly.
Severn (17-7, 12-1 Black) produced another good week, downing Annapolis Area Christian School, 60-50, and Gerstell Academy, 60-41, while earning a top seed in the B Conference and a bye into Thursday’s semifinal round.
St. Paul’s (15-7, 10-3 Black) nabbed the other B Conference bye despite falling to a fired-up Friends squad, 62-56, on Friday.
The B Conference title will be settled in the middle game (3 p.m.) of the championship triple-header at UMBC.
Cristo Rey Jesuit (10-6, 9-2) notched a significant 55-46 triumph in the C Conference over first-place Saints Peter & Paul before the Sabres (17-8, 11-1) rebounded by taking down Key, 77-40, and Beth Tfiloh, 60-49. The second-seeded Hornets’ follow-up was a 74-38 victory over Jemicy, although Saints Peter & Paul secured the No. 1 seed.
The C Conference final is slated for 1 p.m. at UMBC.