McDonogh knew it had to play the perfect game to beat nationally ranked Montrose Christian last night at the Towson Catholic Tip-Off Mixer.
Though the No. 11 Eagles were far from perfection, they were able to hang with USA Today's 13th-ranked team in the nation before falling, 60-49.
It was a game of three parts for the Eagles (1-1), who trailed early by 10 points before building a five-point lead against the Mustangs (2-0).
Montrose went on a 12-2 run early in the fourth quarter to turn away the Maryland Interscholastic Athletic Association school.
"They're very talented one through five," said McDonogh senior forward Mike Popoko. "The big kid [Linas Kleiza], we didn't have an answer for him all night and that killed us."
Kleiza, a 6-foot-8 senior forward, led all scorers with 23 points and seven rebounds for Montrose, ranked No. 3 in the Washington area. Popoko had 22 points for McDonogh, and junior guard Corey Davis scored 12.
No. 17 Woodlawn had a tough opening assignment, facing National Christian, ranked No. 9 in the Washington area. The Prince George's County school had little difficulty handing the Warriors a 70-48 defeat.
Patrick Ewing, son of the former NBA All-Star center, scored a game-high 22 points for National Christian (2-1). Thomas Hickson and Jordan Brown led Woodlawn (0-1) with 10 points.
National Christian will play Towson Catholic in tonight's finale. The Owls (2-1) defeated Oakland Mills (0-2-, 63-26, in the last game of the night.
Towson Catholic (2-1) was paced by junior forward Jamal Smith's 18 points
The Eagles trailed Montrose 46-41 with 5:18 remaining in regulation after a second dunk by Popoko. Montrose hit three of four free throws before Kleiza rebounded a miss by Joe Young, scored and was fouled. He completed the three-point play to give the Mustangs an 11-point cushion.
"We hung in there, we played good defense all game long," said McDonogh coach Matt MacMullen. "We knew the key was rebounding and turnovers. We just committed too many turnovers, and it killed us."
Montrose had only 16 rebounds (McDonogh had 14), but many were offensive. But the Eagles were able to keep Montrose within their sights throughout.
"We didn't get into our offense early," said Popoko, a 6-5 forward headed to Stony Brook in New York. "When we started doing that, we had some good shots and got back in the game. Toward the end, they hit their shots and we didn't."
The Eagles enjoyed a four-point advantage in the early stages of third quarter before Montrose slowly began to assert its quickness and strength. The Mustangs converted five of seven field-goal attempts in a 13-4 run, giving them the lead for good at 35-30 with 3:42 remaining in the third.
After McDonogh eased back to 37-36, baskets by Young, Rich Baker and a three-pointer by Antwan Hardy gave them a 44-36 lead with 7:40 remaining in the regulation.
"They're just ridiculously athletic and strong," said MacMullen. "The difference between them and a lot of the teams we play is just strength. We play against [teams] with great quickness and speed, but their frontline is just really strong."
Said Montrose Christian coach Stu Vetter: "They set some good screens inside and ran their offense pretty well. In the second half, I thought we picked it up with enough intensity to get the win."
Vetter, who has built national powers at Flint Hill (Va.) and St. John's Prospect Hall, has taken Montrose to the top of the national rankings. The Mustangs are next headed to tournaments in Hawaii and North Carolina. Montrose will also play local teams Aberdeen (Jan. 4) and Towson Catholic (Feb. 7).
The last time a Vetter-coached team played in the Baltimore area was in 1997 at the Charm City Classic with St. John's Prospect Hall. St. John's, then ranked No. 1 by the Associated Press, was upset by St. Frances and Mark Karcher.