Mount Carmel boys basketball has aspirations of making some playoff noise. Friday night at Archbishop Spalding, the No. 5 Cougars might have found the ideal prototype.
They started fast, mixed defenses to keep the home team off balance and received strong contributions from their starters and the bench alike.
In a complete start-to-finish performance at both ends, Mount Carmel left with a satisfying 55-44 win over the No. 10 Cavaliers.
Tristen Wilson and Samartine Hill both had 11 points with Mario Tatum adding nine as the Cougars (17-7) improved to 5-4 in the Baltimore Catholic League and 7-2 in the Maryland Interscholastic Athletic Association A Conference. Spalding (13-7) is now 3-5 in the BCL and 7-2 in the MIAA A.
The Cougars set an early tone by jumping out to a 13-2 lead, with Wilson and the team’s only senior, guard Drew Dixon, accounting for the last nine points. They never let the Cavaliers make a significant run.
“Coach [Tony Martin] told us to keep the foot on the gas, no matter what,” said guard Rodney Scott, who finished with five points and played pestering defense throughout. “We just came off a big loss and wanted to bounce back, keep the train moving and get ready for the playoffs. This was probably one of our best overall team games — we just came in and got the job done.”
The Cavaliers, who got a game-high 17 points from junior forward Malik Washington, were able to get within 21-15 at the half, but the Cougars stayed on course to pull away in the second.
A 3-pointer from Hill gave Mount Carmel a 33-21 advantage late in the third quarter. Scott hit a three early in the fourth and followed with a lob assist to forward Junior Mancho, whose emphatic dunk stretched the lead to 41-25 with under six minutes to play.
Rotating players, switching defenses and controlling the boards, the Cougars paid attention to detail and played hard every possession. Martin believes that’s what it will take for his team to make the significant pushes in the two playoff tournaments.
“I think the reality is [Mount] St. Joe and St. Frances — to their credit — are at the top of the leagues, but anybody can beat anybody this year,” he said. “For us, we are trying to develop one through 10 and I want everybody to start a game. I want our depth to hopefully be the thing that makes the difference at the end of the season.”
After averaging 75 points in their previous three games, all wins, the Cavaliers weren’t able to match the Cougars’ energy or solve their different looks on defense.
“[Their] changes on defense — we got to do a better job recognizing what we need to execute whether it was man or zone or whatever they are playing,” Spalding coach Josh Pratt said. “That’s what it is and, honestly, I’m going to put it on myself — I got to do a better job. We’ll get back at it with practice on Sunday and get better.”
Both teams have home games Monday with Mount Carmel hosting Loyola Blakefield at 6 p.m. and Spalding taking on John Carroll at 7.
MC — Dixon 5, Tatum 9, Rudusans 2, Mancho 6, Tr. Heflin 3, Hill 11, Scott 6, Wilson 10, Browne 2, Ty. Heflin 1. Totals: 14 15-25 55
AS — Washington 17, Lonergan 2, Sykes 2, Moultrie 2, Barrett 6, Newton 7, Carter 3, C. Busse 5. Total: 16 7-15 44
Halftime: MC, 21-5