The John Carroll boys basketball team used an 10-0 second quarter run and an 10-point fourth quarter advantage Tuesday to beat visiting McDonogh, 53-37, in a Maryland Interscholastic Athletic Association tournament quarterfinal game.
The win avenged a pair of tight losses the Patriots suffered to the Eagles during the regular season. The Patriots lost 58-55 in December at McDonogh and 35-33 two weeks ago at home.
"The second time we played them, we were minus three senior starters and we had a fourth starter in foul trouble, people don't realize that," Patriots coach Tony Martin said. "The first time we just laid an egg, but credit them, they've been a much improved team in our league, and I just thought the difference today was that we were healthy and we played with energy."
That energy was evident from the start, although McDonogh was winning a battle on the boards after its own missed shots.
"They may be the best offensive rebounding team in the league and they start a big athletic lineup. That was a concern going in, plus they shoot equal three's to two's, so there was a lot of long rebounds and we weren't doing a god job of boxing," Martin said.
Despite the extra opportunities for McDonogh, the game was deadlocked at 14 through one quarter.
Patriots senior guard Kimbal Mackenzie's six-point second quarter allowed John Carroll to go ahead, 24-14, after John Carroll opened the quarter on an 10-0 run.
But then McDonogh's Noah Locke scored seven points in the final 2:25 of the half to bring the Eagles back, and John Carroll's halftime lead was 26-21.
Mackenzie took over in the third quarter, taking the ball to the basket and converting with one bucket and 5-of-6 made free throws. He finished with a game-high 17 points.
McDonogh, though, would not go away and on Evan Fisher's (16 points) long three-point basket, trailed by just four, 33-29.
Malik Tyne (16 points) and Kevin Kangu (11 off the bench) added jumpers to give the Patriots an 37-31 lead through three quarters.
McDonogh cut the deficit to four once more, but John Carroll, despite missing two front ends of 1-and-1's, made enough (13-for-23 for the game) free throws to blow the game open. McDonogh made just one basket and four free throws in the fourth quarter. The Eagles were 9-of-13 from the line.
Locke added 12 points for McDonogh (15-12).
The Patriots (25-5) will visit Calvert Hall in Thursday's semifinal round. Game time is 7 p.m. The Patriots split with Calvert Hall, winning big at home, 69-48, and losing on the road, 43-40.
"It will be fun," Martin said of meeting Calvert Hall. They've got four starters that are Division I athletes. It's gonna be an absolute battle over there. We just need to get healthy between now and then and get some energy and play to win. We just can't play tentatively."