Mount St. Joseph is in a “transition period,” Spalding boys basketball coach Josh Pratt said, “just like us.”
While the Cavaliers might be growing, they’re not feeling growing pains.
With 69-41 a wire-to-wire domination of last year’s Maryland Interscholastic Athletic Association A Conference champion, Spalding extended its win streak to six and its Baltimore Catholic League record to a flawless 4-0. Since the Cavaliers fell to the Gaels by a hair in the MIAA A final last spring, they upset their rivals in the Baltimore Catholic League semifinals and now recorded their first home victory against the Gaels since 2012.
Spalding (12-3) intentionally scheduled a perilous December and had to scrap to the final second for several of those wins.
“We took a lot of lumps last year and we learned,” Pratt said. “We’re a young team still, but some of these guys have been through the fire. I finally have the right staff in place, and [the players], they’ve really bought into it all.”
The Gaels never threatened Spalding’s control. The Cavaliers clogged up the paint from the first whistle and shoved Mount St. Joseph’s young starters to the outside. The Gaels (11-7) were frigid outside, not hitting a single 3-pointer in the first half with the Cavaliers, who carried a size advantage, contesting each one.
Spalding freshman Braxton Bogard (20 points) knew how this would all play out. He felt confident since Christmas.
“We just wanted to win more. I think you could see it from the jump. They couldn’t really score in the half court,” Bogard said. “The only place they really had was in transition — and we just wanted to score more.”
Bogard proved every minute he touched the floor why Spalding brought him in. The 6-foot-8 forward christened the first quarter with a dunk and bodied Gaels out of the interior to prevent even a whiff of a second-chance point. He and junior TJ Moultrie (20 points) helped Spalding to a 13-5 lead after one quarter.
“He’s our Malik [Washington] now,” Pratt said, referencing the Spalding star quarterback who is sitting out this basketball season. “I told him when I recruited him that we wanted a 6-8 kid who can bang the 3-point shots — go inside, go out. As long as he stays out of foul trouble, we can win any game.”
The force with which Mount St. Joseph punched in the opening basket of the second quarter suggested the visitors had untangled their kinks. Instead, the Cavaliers defense beat down on the Gaels shooters. Bogard spurred a 15-4 run, decorating it with a dunk. By the time Moultrie popped in the 3-pointer that drove the Gaels to timeout, the visitors only managed one basket in four minutes surrendered a 7-0 Spalding run.
“It starts with our defense,” Bogard said. “[Kam Carter is] one of my favorite players because of his full-court defense. I like TJ too. We move the ball well, we defend well and we make it a nightmare for other teams to score.”
On the other side of the huddle, Mount St. Joseph glimpsed improvement. Three consecutive layups then Bryton Barrett’s 3-pointer to close the half got the visitors within 31-18.
But whatever life the Gaels dusted up offensively flatlined in the second half. Juniors Moe Longeran, Colt Busse and Carter and Bogard hit outside shots. Moultrie, sophomore AZ Adofu and Bogard again monopolized under the rim. The neck-and-neck firefight the two teams displayed last year failed to make an appearance.
Spalding wouldn’t allow it.
“No one can say we’re not running for the championship,” Bogard said. “We were right there last year, in the BCL and MIAA finals. We’re right there again. We just gotta keep executing.”
Mount St. Joseph – 5 13 10 13 – 41
Archbishop Spalding – 13 18 22 16 – 69
Scoring
MSJ: Aaron Early 13, BJ Ranson 9, Joseph Green 6, Bryton Barrett 5, Enrico Purnell 4, Tourean Thompson 3, Chauncey Word 2, Kenneth Anthony 1
AS: Braxton Bogard 20, TJ Moultrie 20, Kam Carter 13, Colt Busse 8, AZ Adofo 3, Moe Lonergan 3, Raph Bonfo 2
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