Mount St. Joseph continued its unbeaten season in impressive fashion as the Gaels used an early 14-0 run and never looked back in a 62-48 victory over Glenelg Country School Friday night in the Maryland Interscholastic Athletic Association A Conference semifinals.
Glenelg's Warren Powers (team-high 19 points) canned a three-pointer just over a minute into the contest giving the Dragons (16-12) a 3-0 lead.
The no. 2 ranked Gaels (24-5) responded with 14 unanswered points and never trailed again.
Kameron Williams (game-high 22 points) started the run with a three-pointer with 6:44 remaining and Phillip Lawrence punctuated it when he crammed an alley-oop from Phil Booth (15 points, 6 steals), who also added a three-pointer during the stretch.
"I just know when I get that dunk it gets the team motivated," said Lawrence, who was playing his final home game in Irvington. "We wanted to come out hard because we want to win a championship and I wanted to come out hard because it's my last time playing here."
Lawrence, the lone senior on the roster will play next at UMBC against John Carroll in the championship game, slated for 5:30 p.m. on Sunday, Feb. 19.
"I thought Phillip Lawrence played a terrific game at both ends of the floor," Mount St. Joe coach Pat Clatchey said.
Lawrence scored all six of his points on dunks and added nine rebounds and two blocked shots against a Dragon front line that included 6-foot-8 inch senior forward Cedric Moune and 6-5 junior forward Powers (9 rebounds).
Lawrence got help in the paint from Gael junior Lavon Long who hauled in eight rebounds and had four steals.
"Lavon is really coming on strong when it counts," Clatchey said.
Charlie Jones came off the bench in the second quarter and gave the Gaels a boost with a pair of field goals and a free throw as the Gaels bumped a 16-7 halftime lead to 34-16 at halftime.
"Charlie Jones gave us an unbelievable spark off the bench," Clatchey said.
Starting junior guard Williams and sophomore guard Booth carried the scoring load.
Williams had 12 points and Booth had nine in the first half when the Gaels shot 15-for-27 (55 percent) from the floor.
"That first half was tough," Glenelg Country coach Kevin Quinlan said. "They came out energized and just punched us in the nose and shot the ball incredibly well."
The Dragons misfired on 12 of 17 field goals in the first half and committed 11 turnovers.
Kevin Boyd scored 12 points in the third quarter, but the Dragons never got closer than 14 the rest of the way.
"Our goal was to get it to nine, but we couldn't do it," Quinlan said. "They are incredibly patient and to me that is their greatest asset. They really play well together offensively and keep the game so daggone clean."
The Gaels committed just 10 turnovers the entire game and outrebounded the Dragons, 28-23.
It was the third victory over the Dragons this season and ensures another Gael showdown with John Carroll, a team they defeated twice, including a 49-46 overtime victory in the final regular-season game.
"We are having a heckuva season and we hope the winning can continue," Clatchey said.
Glenelg's season ended, but its coach reserved some praise for the Dragons.
"This is the best team in the history of the school," Quinlan said. "I told them they outdid themselves and they have something to be proud of. I'm excited about the future."
Scoring summary:
Mount St. Joseph 62, Glenelg Country School 48
Mt. St. Joe — Williams 22, Booth, 15, Jones 7, Lawrence 6, Adams 5, Long 4, Doran 2, McNeil 1.
Glenelg Country — Powers 19, Boyd 17, Barnard 4, Jones 4, Moune 2, Jove-Vives 2.