Archbishop Spalding is headed for Western Maryland and the prestigious Alhambra Tournament at Frostburg State University beginning March 18.
After winning the 28th Catholic League tournament Monday, the No. 3 Cavaliers (29-4) accepted an invitation to the Alhambra yesterday along with No. 4 Towson Catholic (25-6).
The Owls won the Catholic League regular-season title, but were upset in the tournament semifinals by St. Frances, 47-46. Spalding topped the Panthers, 57-49, in the final to win the tournament in its second year in the league.
Normally, a playoff would have been held to determine the league's representative in the Alhambra, but it became a mute point when tournament officials decided to take two teams from Baltimore for the first time.
"We're pretty excited about it, " said Spalding coach Tony Martin.
"Playing in the Alhambra was one of our goals."
Spalding and Towson Catholic will compete with three teams from the Washington Catholic Athletic Conference in champion Gonzaga (28-4), runner-up Good Counsel (28-3) and DeMatha (25-4), the defending Alhambra champion, Philadelphia's champion, Canada's Cathedral High and host Bishop Walsh.
Spalding juniors Derrick Snowden and Tremaine Robinson and senior Aleksandar Pavlovic were named to the All-Catholic League tournament team.
Spring in the air
Glen Burnie resident and Mount St. Joseph shortstop Allan Strick has received an invitation to participate in the Team One National Showcase June 18-20 at Tropicana Field/Al Lang Stadium in St. Petersburg, Fla.
Team One holds eight regional showcases for rising underclassmen and the national showcase for the top 120 high school juniors from all over the country, Latin America and Canada. The players are selected by college coaches and pro scouts.
Strick, who is 6-foot-1 and 185 pounds, was a key player on coach Dean Albany's Maryland Orioles national 16-year old champion last summer.
One of his Oriole teammates, right-hander Phil Aiken will join him at Team One.
The 6-5 and 220-pound Aiken transferred from John Carroll to Fallston this year.
Sideliners
No. 5-ranked Meade (22-2) visits Westminster (15-8) in a Class 4A, East Region semifinal tonight. A Mustangs victory would tie the county public school record for most wins (23) in a season. Meade's huge 59-56 overtime win over No. 2 Annapolis (22-2) Monday prevented the Panthers from winning 23 a fourth time.
Meade has done it twice.
Old Mill's 58-39 victory over Chesapeake (7-16) in the Class 4A, East Region was win No. 20 (20-3) for the ninth-ranked Patriots, giving county boys three 20-game winners for the first time.
Junior Thomas Hawkins scored 16 points for Annapolis in the loss to Meade, running his career total to 1,016 points and moving into third place on the Panthers' all-time scoring list. Hawkins passed '92 grad Rob Wooster (1,001) and '97 grad Boo Diggs (1,003).
With one year left, Hawkins trails only Dale Solomon, who played from 1974-77 and had 1,075 points, and James Butler (1983-86), who scored 1,324.
Despite a couple costly turnovers late in the game, Annapolis coach John Brady did not criticize his players.
"I'm not going to let one game spoil a fantastic season," said Brady, whose Panthers had beaten Meade twice.
"These guys have been great to coach. We don't have to apologize for losing to a team of Meade's caliber."
Marcus Johnson led Annapolis with 18 points, tying Meade's Terrell Ross for game-high honors. Johnson had the most points (45) of any player on either team in the three games between the two.
Melvin Montgomery, who had 11 points and 10 rebounds for Meade in the win over Annapolis, is no relation to the Old Mill baseball coach of the same name.
If Southern, a 71-61 winner over North Caroline (10-12) Monday, wins at Chesapeake Community College tonight over Stephen Decatur of Worcester County, and if top-ranked Dunbar (20-3) triumphs over Easton, the Poets will be in Harwood, 7 p.m. Friday for the Class 2A East title.
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Pub Date: 3/03/99