No. 1 Mount Saint Joseph basketball, finding playoff form, rolls to 59-40 win over Calvert Hall
Mount Saint Joseph basketball put an emphasis on the little details Friday night at Calvert Hall.
The extra pass consistently set up better shots and communication on defense was a constant with quick hands everywhere. For the No. 1 Gaels, it added up to one of their most efficient wins of the season, a 59-40 thrashing of the host Cardinals.
Jordan Brathwaite scored a game-high 18 points in leading a balanced performance as Mount Saint Joseph (29-4) clinched its third straight Baltimore Catholic League regular-season title with an 11-1 mark while improving to 13-1 in the Maryland Interscholastic Athletic Association A Conference.
After a five-game winning streak, Calvert Hall (15-17) lost its second straight to fall to 3-10 in the BCL and 8-7 in the MIAA A.
After a tight first quarter, the Gaels outscored the home team 18-5 in a dominant second to take a 32-22 lead that would grow in the second half. In the pivotal second quarter, BJ Ranson (10 points) hit two 3-pointers, freshman reserve Kenneth Anthony scored all five of his points and Joe Green (14 points) scored the last seven for the Gaels to provide the cushion.
Brathwaite helped put the game away with eight of his 18 points in the third quarter as Mount Saint Joseph built a 47-30 advantage.
“Basketball is a team game, so we wanted to come in and hit open guys with the extra pass and knew we would come out with the dub,” Brathwaite said. “It’s a great feeling. We’ve worked really hard all year to get to where we’re at, and the fact that it’s all coming together is awesome.”
With the grind that comes in the demanding BCL schedule, Mount Saint Joseph coach Pat Clatchey puts a premium on the regular-season titles.
“I know a lot of people don’t put a lot of stock in the regular-season championship, but to me that’s the real champion. You got [14 games], got to go on the road, got to deal with this and deal with that,” he said.
The Gaels are banking on more complete efforts like Friday’s to bring home more titles with the playoffs approaching.
“I thought we played really well. Our guards were good,” Clatchey said. “Jordan Brathwaite and Ryan Truitt really set the tone defensively, we got contributions off our bench and just happy to get a road win and to be able breathe a little bit.”
Finding their form with five straight wins, including victories over ranked McDonogh and Mount Carmel, the Cardinals will try to rebound after losing two in a row. Brendan Johnson scored a team-high 13 points, while Tyrin Bizzelle added 11.
“These last two games — St. Frances and tonight — we just didn’t shoot the ball as well as we needed to. It’s disappointing,” Calvert Hall coach Gary Neal said. “On a Friday night at home, I thought we’d play better, but we shot 13-for-48 [from the field]. I thought we got into our offense but we just didn’t make our shots — credit to Mount Saint Joe.”
Both teams were without key players. Gaels All-Metro senior forward Tyonne Farrell was out for disciplinary reasons, while Calvert Hall junior forward JT Taggert missed the game with a sore ankle.
Mount Saint Joseph returns to action at 6 p.m. Monday with a home game against Glenelg Country. Calvert Hall hosts St. Vincent Pallotti at 6 p.m. Wednesday.
MSJ — Brathwaite 18, Truitt 5, Green 14, Ranson 10, Wingfield 5, Hall 2, Anthony 5. Totals: 20 14-21 59
CH — Johnson 13, Bizzelle 11, Al. Hamond 2, Moore 3, Fields 2, Wood 3, Foter 1, Latoga 3, Garrison 2. Totals: 13 10-17 40
Halftime: MSJ, 32-22
