On Super Bowl Sunday, Mount St. Joseph’s basketball team was indeed super when it counted the most.
The top-ranked Gaels dominated No. 2 St. Frances in the fourth quarter en route to an 82-64 victory in a MIAA A Conference/Baltimore Catholic League showdown in front of a sellout audience in Southwest Baltimore. University of Illinois recruit Amani Hansberry finished with 26 points and 16 rebounds for Mount St. Joseph, and Ace Valentine added 16 points.
The Gaels (31-3 overall), ranked 17th nationally by MaxPreps and No. 23 by ESPN, outscored the Panthers, 27-13, over the final eight minutes to remain perfect in MIAA A play (15-0) and tied for first in the BCL (11-1). It was Mount St. Joseph’s first regular season sweep of their city rival since the 2019-20 season.
“I told our guys this was our Super Bowl,” said Gaels coach Pat Clatchey. “We’re still in contention for the regular season championship…St. Frances is really good, especially on the perimeter. I think we did enough to contain and curtail them.”
“We knew we had to get back on defense. We knew who their three main scorers, don’t let anyone else score the ball,” said Hansberry.
The Panthers’ dynamic backcourt of Carlton Carrington, Jahnathan Lamothe and Tyler Jackson combined for 46 points Sunday with Carrington, a University of Pittsburgh recruit, scoring 21 points. Lamothe, who’s headed to Maryland, finished with 18.
St. Frances’ three-headed monster couldn’t match Hansberry’s Godzilla-esque effort Sunday. The 6-foot-7 post, who had at least a four-inch advantage on any St. Frances interior defender had little problem getting to the basket or finding an open teammate on the perimeter when double-teamed.
“Our interior, with Ty (Tyonne Farrell) and Amani, is our advantage in those games,” said Clatchey. “We made a conscious effort to get him the ball early and often.”
After a back-and-forth first half with the Panthers, Mount St. Joseph began imposing its will, more specifically Hansberry, in the second half. The senior scored inside and followed with a dunk off an inbound pass from Valentine for a 41-32 advantage with 5:56 left in the third.
The lead was 51-42 after Hansberry somehow got to a loose ball in the paint and scored. But, St. Frances, behind Carrington’s four-point play and Edrees Farooq’s 3-pointer with about three seconds left, trailed 55-51.
The fourth quarter belonged to the Gaels. After a Hansberry free throw opened the frame, senior Austin Abrams, off a second effort, found Valentine in the corner for a 3-pointer. Mount St. Joseph made a defensive stop and Hansberry converted two free throws after being fouled inside for a 61-51 advantage.
Joede Mebane’s 3-pointer stopped the damage for St. Frances, but Hansberry again scored in the paint. Valentine followed with a 3-point play, pushing the Gaels’ lead to 66-54 with 4:55 remaining in regulation.
Valentine, who will play for UMBC next season, added three rebounds and three assists, and Farrell had 15 points and five rebounds. Senior reserve Sean Clark finished with 13 points.
It was a more cohesive showing by Mount St. Joseph, which defeated St. Frances, 62-59, in East Baltimore last month.
“Everything was just flowing…we had a good practice yesterday,” said Abrams, who had seven points and three assists. “Everything was good today.”
St. Frances (23-10), which struggled from the perimeter in the first meeting, was better Sunday. Lamothe had 10 points in the first half including a 3-pointer to give the Panthers the lead after the first quarter and an impressive dunk late in the first half.
But the Panthers, who lost their only true post presence with 6-8 freshman Gage Howard transferring to Rosedale Christian in mid-January, had no retort for Hansberry, who scored nine points in the fourth quarter.
“I think we did a better job on him (Hansberry) the last time. He got the best of us today,” said Myles. “We got to figure it out.”
The loss ended St. Frances’ bid for a record sixth straight BCL regular season championship. The Panthers, who will be No. 1 seed for the MIAA A playoffs as the top team out of the Black Division (12-2), will be the third-seed (10-3) for the BCL Tournament later in the month.
Riding a 16-game winning streak, Mount St. Joseph, the top team in the MIAA A Red Division, is in position for the BCL regular season crown. The Gaels host St. Maria Goretti Wednesday night and travel to No. 10 Archbishop Spalding Friday for their regular season finale.
“We’ve had our ups and downs,” said Hansberry, “but definitely we’re playing our best basketball right now.”
NO. 1 MOUNT ST. JOSEPH 82, NO. 2 ST. FRANCES 64
St. Frances - Carrington 21, Lamothe 18, Farooq 9, Jackson 7, Mebane 7, Brown 2. Totals 22 11-11 64.
Mount St. Joseph - Hansberry 26, Valentine 16, Farrell 15, Clark 13, Abrams 7, Green 3, Wingfield 2. Totals 28 21-23 82.
St. Frances 18 14 19 13 - 64
Mount St. Joseph 17 20 18 27 - 82
