The New Town boys basketball team was looking to show that it is a team to be respected again in the area after a surprising 1A championship last season.

In last night's game against No. 3 St. Frances, the Titans showed that they will need a little more time together to hang with the top Baltimore Catholic teams, falling to the Panthers, 73-44, in front of a raucous Titans crowd.

"It was a total team effort," St. Frances coach William Wells said.

"This game showed some growth that we had. The young kids played well under pressure."

Sean Mosley showed why he is one of the best players in the area, scoring a game-high 27 points, including some crowd-pleasing dunks.

Sophomore Donte Holmes added 17.

"He's finally starting to understand how important it is for him to score," Mosley said of Holmes. "It takes a lot of pressure off our backs when he does."

St. Frances outscored New Town 14-6 in the first quarter, but the Titans started getting easy baskets in transition and took a 20-19 lead in the second quarter. The Panthers countered with a 14-3 run to regain control.

With a 38-29 lead early in the third quarter, the Panthers blew the game open with a 21-5 run that started with nine straight points from Mosley.

The Panthers' full-court pressure defense kept the Titans' offense out of rhythm. Guard Stuart Clarke was held to 12 points on 6-for-18 shooting.

"We knew that he was going to be the key factor, so we just made him work hard," Wells said. "We put two or three guys on him, and it got him out of the game. But he's a great player."

stefen.lovelace@baltsun.com