The opening round of the Catholic League tournament proved little more than a tuneup for No. 2 seed Calvert Hall as it cruised to an 84-49 victory over seventh-seeded Towson Catholic at home last night.
The No. 5 Cardinals, improving to 25-8 overall, advanced to the opening game of tonight's semifinal doubleheader at UMBC at 6:30 p.m. against St. Maria Goretti. The Owls closed their season at 7-21.
The Cardinals were led by Tavar Witherspoon with 23 points, and Sam Anyan and Juan Dixon scored 12 each for Calvert Hall, which took a quick early lead and went on to dominate.
"I think we're at the point now where we feel the teams that we play have to beat us," said Calvert Hall coach Mark Amatucci. "When we're doing what we're doing the people have to adjust to us.
"In our last three games, we've come out and put people away early. We've been doing what we want to do. Right now, this is where we want to be."
Calvert Hall will have to be at its best against St. Maria Goretti, which has beaten the Cardinals twice this season.
Last night, the Cardinals used their outside firepower to open the lead in the first quarter. With the score tied at 6 midway in the period, John McKay was fouled while attempting a three-pointer and made all three of his free throws to put the Cardinals ahead to stay at 9-6.
In the next few minutes, Anyan hit on a short jumper in the lane and Witherspoon scored on a driving layup to make it 13-6, Calvert Hall. Then three-pointers by Dixon and McKay built a 19-10 lead late in the first quarter.
The second quarter was a defensive clinic by the Cardinals, who used their quick hands for easy baskets and a 29-13 edge just over two minutes into the quarter.
That lead kept building after an Owl basket by Khary Richburg snapped a 10-0 run.
Calvert Hall followed that with a 14-2 run that built a 43-17 advantage with just under two minutes left in the first half.
In the second quarter, Calvert Hall outscored the Owls 27-7 on 10-for-14 shooting from the field and the Cardinals' defense limited Towson Catholic to just 3-for-11 shooting at the other end.
Towson Catholic had no players in double figures, but 11 Owls did score as coach Mike Daniel used his bench frequently.
* St. Maria Goretti 70, Loyola 51: Kenny Logan scored 20 points and grabbed 14 rebounds as host St. Maria Goretti (25-10) defeated Loyola in a Catholic League tournament quarterfinal game.
Jay Piccolomi added 17 points and Phil Lane had eight assists for Goretti.
Mike O'Neill led the Dons with 14 points and Jared Clelan added nine as Loyola coach Jerry Savage completed the season two wins shy of 500 for his career.