The highly competitive game that often comes in the area’s biggest boys basketball rivalry — St. Frances vs. Mount Saint Joseph — didn’t quite materialize Tuesday night on East Chase Street.
The host Panthers, led by guards Terence Jones and Carter Fisk, simply weren’t having it.
The dynamic backcourt took turns carrying the load — both finishing with 27 points — as No. 4 St. Frances claimed a thorough 84-73 win over newly anointed No. 1 Mount Saint Joseph.
Jones scored the Panthers’ first 11 points in the game’s first two minutes, St. Frances led by as many as 19 points and the Panthers never let the Gaels get the lead under 10 the rest of the game.
It was a statement victory.
“I would say we fought real hard and it was a big win. We saw they were the No. 1 team and we wanted to show the world why we should be No. 1,” Fisk said.
The game counted in both the Baltimore Catholic League and Maryland Interscholastic Athletic Association A Conference. St. Frances (21-4) improves to 7-1 in both the BCL and MIAA A’s Red division. Mount Saint Joseph, which got a sensational 34-point performance from senior guard BJ Ranson, had its five-game winning streak end. The Gaels (19-5) are now 6-3 in the BCL and 7-2 in the MIAA A Black division.
The win was Panthers coach Nick Myles 150th in the BCL, moving him within one of tying St. Maria Goretti legend Cokey Robertson for a share of fifth place all time in the storied league.
Missing last week with the flu, Jones set the tone with scintillating play.
He knocked down consecutive 3-pointers on the Panthers’ first two possessions, followed with a steal and layup and then hit another 3 with 5:58 left in the first quarter to put the home team up 11-2. He’d go on to hit three more 3s the rest of the game to highlight a quality all-around performance.
“[The fast start] felt great. It really starts with my teammates setting some screens to get me open and me knocking down some shots,” he said. “This is a big rivalry — I love it, it’s always competitive, always a good game against them.”
A big second quarter helped the Panthers separate.
Jones converted a 4-point play when he was fouled making a 3. Fisk accounted for 11 points and Chance McCoy (12 points) scored in transition to make it 45-26 in the final minute of the half.
The Gaels clamped down better in the second half and tried to make a run behind Ranson’s fine game from the perimeter. But the Panthers were always responded.
Early in the fourth quarter, Gaels freshman Ciar Word scored in transition to cut the lead to 60-50, but McCoy followed with a basket and 3.
With 4:20 to play, Saxton Simley converted a three-point play to make it 70-60, but Aliel Spears scored after an excellent inside feed from Fisk to hold off the visitor’s bid to shift the momentum.
Mount Saint Joseph coach Pat Clatchey liked the second-half fight his team showed, but was disappointed with the team’s defense at the start.
“Their guards — Terence and Carter — are very good players and their other guys play their roles really well. But we can’t let them score like that. It’s a recipe for disaster,” he said. “We did a better in the second half, we fought. Hopefully, it’s a lesson learned that when you come down here in this tough environment, you got to be ready to play when they tip it up.”
Both teams return to action on Friday with 7 p.m. road games. St. Frances travels to Calvert Hall and Mount Saint Joseph visits Gilman.
Have a news tip? Contact Glenn Graham at ggraham@baltsun.com, 410-332-6636 and x.com/GlennGrahamSun.
MSJ: 15-14-19-25 — 73
SF: 24-21-15-24 — 84
MSJ: Ranson 34, Early Jr. 4, Ci. Word 4, Ch. Word 6, Simley 9, Etolue 14, Anthony 2
SF: Jones 27, Fisk 27, Smith 5, Spears 2, McCoy 12, Branch 5, McMahon 6
