Spalding boys basketball knew it would take a fearless, collective effort to knock off No. 1 St. Frances on Friday. And, just as important, they knew different players would have to step up at different moments.
Sure enough, the No. 3 Cavaliers, in front of a packed home gym, showed themselves ready for the task.
Timely 3-point shooting came from guards Colt Busse and Moe Lonergan, who finished with 15 and 14 points, respectively. TJ Moultrie and Braxton Bogard delivered complete games. And when it was time to close out the win, 5-foot-11 senior guard Kam Carter simply played bigger than the rest.
He scored six of his 10 points in the final 2:17 of play, including two relentless drives to the basket, to keep Spalding in front on the way to a 60-55 win over the Panthers.
Twice St. Frances made it a one-possession game in the closing minutes, and twice Carter took the ball hard to the basket and finished against tough defense.
Spalding rebounded from Wednesday’s disappointing loss at No. 4 Mount Carmel to improve to 14-4 overall, 5-1 in the Baltimore Catholic League and 6-2 in the Maryland Interscholastic Athletic Association A Conference. St. Frances (15-3) lost for the first time in both leagues and is now 4-1 in the BCL and 6-1 in the MIAA.
The Cavaliers, now 8-0 on their home court, were determined to get back on the winning track.
“We took a bad loss Wednesday, but we came back and had a great practice yesterday,” Carter said. “Tonight, our main focus was guarding, rebounding. I felt like we did those things at a high level and we shared the ball, got everyone involved and the outcome was the outcome.”
As for the the fierce work at the end of the game?
“I trust myself with the ball at the end of the game,” he said. “It was a tight game, so I wanted the ball. The game slowed down and I knew I needed to step up, score and help win a game for my team.”
After the Panthers jumped out to a 6-0 lead, the Cavaliers settled in. The first half was tight, with the home team leading 28-26 at the break.
The game’s first considerable run came midway through the third quarter, and it was the Cavaliers who enjoyed it — a 10-0 spurt that turned a three-point deficit into a 44-35 lead. It featured consecutive 3s from Busse with two baskets from Moultrie in the mix.
The Panthers regrouped. A 3-pointer from senior guard Trent Egbiremolen (15 points) ended the Cavaliers’ run with 1:07 left in the third quarter and then Kamauri Lawson opened the fourth with another 3 to cut the deficit to 44-41.
The visitors would get within two points three times and then pulled with one, 56-55, when Jasiah Cannady (14 points) hit a 3 with 1:09 to play.
But the Cavaliers would have the last-minute answers.
Carter pushed the advantage to 58-55 with 41 seconds left, and then Bogard went up strong for a defensive rebound after a missed 3 by Cannady with 19 seconds left. Moultrie made it a two-possession game when he made a free throw with eight seconds left and tacked on another one in the final second.
With Spalding coach Josh Pratt out sick with the flu, assistant coach Clyburn Cunningham IV took over the lead role and was pleased with the Cavaliers’ poise throughout the game.
“I want to say it’s just another game, but, to be honest, it’s not. It’s kind of indicative of our growth,” he said. “With that said, the message to the guys in the locker room is going to be after you cross one mountain, there’s a lot more behind it. So this is not a championship and there isn’t a banner up and that’s the ultimate goal. So this is big for us, but we have bigger goals ahead.”
All season to this point, the Panthers have found the answers when called upon with their own balanced roster and ability to step up. Coach Nick Myles said Friday just wasn’t his team’s night.
“Didn’t makes shots,” he said. “We got some good looks and they didn’t go in and sometimes that just happens. We’ll be fine.”
On Saturday, St. Frances will take on West Chester, Pennsylvania-based Westtown School at the Hoops for Harmony Showcase in York, with game time set for 5:30 p.m. Spalding is back in action Wednesday when it hosts St. Vincent Pallotti at 7 p.m.
Have a news tip? Contact Glenn Graham at ggraham@baltsun.com, 410-332-6636 and x.com/GlennGrahamSun.
St. Frances — 15-11-12-17 — 55
Spalding — 15-13-16-16 — 60
SF — Cannady 14, Jones III 8, Egbiremolen 15, Fleming 9, Lawson 3, Fisk 2, Allen 4
AS — C. Busse 15, Bogard 7, Carter 10, Moultrie 11, Bonfoh 2, Lonergan 14