UMBC — - Prior to John Carroll's MIAA A Conference Tournament final matchup with the Mount St. Joseph Gaels, Patriot head coach Tony Martin said his team his team spends the majority of its practice time running defensive drills.
That claim was never more evident than on Sunday, as the Patriots held the Gaels to 16 first-half points en route to a 44-41 victory, and their second straight A Conference tournament crown.
"We spend about 70 percent of our practice on defense," Martin said after the Patriots victory over St. Frances in Friday's semifinal round. "We [also] change defenses. We're holding teams to the low 40's this year. I know for a fact that's the best points allowed per-game of any team in the area. We take a lot of pride in our defense."
In Sunday's championship contest, a rematch of the Feb. 10 game which the Gaels won, 49-46, in overtime to clinch the regular-season MIAA A Conference and Baltimore Catholic League crowns, the Patriots held the Mount St. Joseph's offense to eight points in the firs quarter, and another eight points in the second frame. At the halftime whistle, John Carroll was holding a 22-16 advantage.
The Gaels cut the deficit down to 32-31 in the third quarter by outscoring the Patriots 15-10, but the final quarter saw John Carroll hold its opponents to 10 points, while scoring 12.
Leading the way for the Patriot offense was Jarred Jones, who posted a game-best 15 points. Mike Owona had 15 points in the victory, and Justin Jenifer netted seven points for John Carroll. The Patriots' Kamau Stokes scored six points, while Rodney Elliott and Marcus James both had four points in the victory.
Not one of the Gaels was able to break into double digits on offense. Philip Lawrence, Phil Booth and Kyle Doran all had nine points in the loss.
The victory brought John Carroll's season record to 26-6 heading into the upcoming Baltimore Catholic League Tournament.
Patriots control Panthers in semis
John Carroll got into the MIAA title game Sunday by first beating St. Frances, a team whose number the Patriots definitely had this season.
Following a relatively low-key first half in Friday's conference tournament semifinal played at John Carroll, which saw the visitors enter the locker room at the intermission with a 24-20 lead, the two squads came out swinging in the third quarter, exchanging leads six times before the Patriots took control for good in a 52-47 victory.
Down 24-17 in the waning seconds of the first half in Friday's semifinal, the Patriots cut the deficit down to four points when freshman Jenifer nailed a three-pointer from 30 feet out just as the buzzer sounded.
After the Panthers' DaQuan Cook put his team back up by six with a jumper to open the third quarter, John Carroll's Stokes quickly knotted the game at 26-26 with back-to-back three-point shots.
The lead bounced back and forth between the two teams five more times before Jenifer hit a pair of two-point field goals that gave the Patriots an 37-34 edge with just under two minutes left in the quarter. The Panthers would get as close as one point back, but John Carroll did not hand over the lead for the balance of the contest.
Trailing 45-39 late in the fourth quarter, St. Frances drew within two, at 49-47, when Tevon Saddler nailed a shot from beyond the three-point line with just over a minute left in regulation.
With the Panthers field goal away from a tying the game and a three-pointer way from leading, John Carroll went up by three when Jones hit one of two free throws, and then as St. Frances potential game-tying three-point attempt rimmed out.
John Carroll's Elliott hit a layup just before the final buzzer to end the scoring at 52-47 in the Patriots favor.
"This is really one of the weaker games we've played in the last three weeks," Martin said following the semifinal contest. "We've been on a roll lately, peaking at the right time."
"There were some things we didn't do well early, like being patient on offense," Martin continued. "We weren't running any offense in the first quarter, which was a little disturbing. Being down by four at halftime, we were still running decent defense. The second half came down to being patient, creating open shots for teammates, attacking their zone, attacking their man defense with bounce [passes], and, obviously, at the end knocking down enough free throws."
Jenifer led all scorers with an 18-point effort, and Jones had 10 points in the victory. Stokes scored nine points for the Patriots; Elliott had seven.
"Justin is very solid for a freshman," Martin said. "A lot of these players are experienced beyond their years, because of how much they play throughout the year, with AAU competitions and camps. He's a savvy young player."
Saddler was the Panthers' top scorer with 11 points, while Cook added 10 points. Maurice White scored nine points in the loss.
The victory was John Carroll's third over St. Frances this year.