D.C. And B’More Split During Old Spice High School Showcase
Ron Bailey, Publisher
January 29, 2007 – Saturday afforded high school hoop fans a virtually unprecedented opportunity to assess not only players and teams, but add another chapter to the ongoing debate of which area is better basketball-wise – D.C. or Baltimore. All attending the Old Spice High School Showcase were not disappointed, as Mount Saint Joseph took on St. John’s College High School and DeMatha Catholic battled Towson Catholic.
Of course representatives from colleges were also present. Head coaches Todd Bozeman (Morgan State), Gary Williams (Maryland), and Jim Larranaga (George Mason) were courtside, along with assistant coaches Kevin Broadus and Robert Burke – both of Georgetown – Orlando Ranson (Marist), Pete Strickland (North Carolina State), Bill Courtney (UVA), and another member of Maryland’s staff, Keith Booth.
The first contest of this event – which was held at American University’s Bender Arena - saw Mount Saint Joseph (Baltimore, MD) defeat St. John’s College High School (Washington, D.C.), 69-65, in what was easily the most dramatic and controversial contest of the evening.
For the season, Mount Saint Joesph is 18-4, while the loss left St. John's 16-5.
After earning and then losing an early lead, St. John’s regained their advantage midway through the second quarter, primarily based on the offensive exploits of their Georgetown-bound guard, Chris Wright (40 points). Joining him throughout was future George-Mason forward Vlad Moldoveanu (17 points).
Wright is shown here, bringing the ball up the floor.
Any one who has seen Mount Saint Joe’s knows the team, coached by Pat Clatchey, is not one to stop fighting, and the Gaels did nothing to disprove that image: Finding themselves down 35-28 at the half, they steadily battled back, ending up down only one after Henry Sims’ (20 points) fourth quarter foul shots, awarded on a stick back.
About thirty seconds later the drama began. First, Sims was assessed a questionable technical foul for hanging on the rim after dunking. Unfortunately for St. John’s, Moldoveanu missed both foul shots.
Sims would soon thereafter put his team ahead 54-53, only to see the St. John’s Cadets recapture it over the next several seconds by converting two free throws earned via Mount Saint Joe’s purposeful fouling. But as during the preceding technical foul situation, they failed to convert them all (only making four of eight), and as such put the game in jeopardy.
The Gaels took advantage of the opportunity afforded, along with a controversial call, to extend the game into extra sessions: Down 57-54, future Maryland Terp Dino Gregory (15 points) received a baseball type, ¾ court length pass, took a step, and let a three pointer fly – all within .6 seconds. The shot, his first three pointer ever, was ruled good by the refs, sending the crowd into bedlam.
Dino Gregory was motivated by the Baltimore vs. D.C. flavor, and a slight: "I saw one of the flyers, and my name wasn't on it".
After what seemed an eternity, the referees confirmed the shot good, and were not allowed to review video tape in an effort to ensure the right call was made (high school rules don’t allow for such).
“If the refs said it was good, it was good” commented Clatchey after the game. Many fans in attendance, and watching nationally on ESPNU disagreed, as it didn’t seem as though Gregory released the shot before the buzzer, and one of his feet was actually inside the three point stripe.
“I don’t want to take away from the game. It was very, very good players with very good teams” said Cadets coach, Paul DeStefano, who went on to say “They (Paragon Marketing, the promoters) didn’t know how to handle it (the end of game situation)”.
Nevertheless, he lamented his team’s aforementioned inability to seal the game from the line, saying “We had the game, we missed foul shots”.
Mount Saint Joes went up 61-57 in the overtime period. Though they took the lead 62-61 via Moldoveanu converting one of two free throws awarded, the Cadets ended up taking the loss. Wright felt the sequence of events ending regulation “took the energy out of us”.
Of course the Gaels were ecstatic afterward. “It was a good shot, we won the game” said Gregory of his heave, who went on to praise his team’s defense, adding “We are known for it in Baltimore”.
Equally as predictable was the anguish expressed by St. John’s players, of which Wright voiced. “I played great. We played great…but in the long run, we lost” he supplied dejectedly. “We’re going to get them back”.
It could happen in Cumberland, MD’s post season Alhambra Tournament.