The instructions came from the other end of the court, but Mount St. Joseph senior forward Ryley Beaumont heard them loud and clear.

Protecting a one-point lead against No. 1 Calvert Hall in the game's final minute, he was assigned to guard the Cardinals' dominating 6-foot-8 power forward Jonathan Graham.

When Graham powered his way to the basket, Beaumont, 6-5 and slighter, interrupted his journey. His block was the biggest play in the game's most important minute, a time when the No. 2 Gaels came through to pull out a 60-53 win in front of a packed gym in Irvington.

Senior guard Matt Miller followed with four straight free throws and Beaumont, who finished with 20 points to share game-high honors with senior guard Eric Atkins, closed out the win with two more free throws.

The Gaels improve to 17-2 on the season and 7-0 in the Maryland Interscholastic Athletic Association A Conference, while the Cardinals (14-3) drop to 5-1 in league play.

"It's just poise. It came down to toughnes. Calvert Hall is a very good team and we have a lot of respect for them. We had some guys step up, we made some plays and just battled. It was just a great team effort," said Mount St. Joseph coach Pat Clatchey.

Neither team could muster any more than a four-point lead until the game's final minute. The Cardinals got strong play from Graham (16 points) and senior forward Damion Lee (13 points), while the Gaels leaned on Atkins and Beaumont.

Trailing 53-51 with 1:02 left, Atkins finished off a drive to the basket and was fouled, converting the three-point play for a 54-53 lead. Atkins prepared for the free throw as Clatchey yelled out Beaumont's assignment.

"Ryley stepped up big in the St. Frances game on the defensive end, too. That was a huge block there -- the biggest play in the game," Clatchey said.

Following the block, Miller was fouled and calmly sank his first two free throws to give the Gaels a 56-53 lead. On Calvert Hall's next possession, senior point guard Kyle Wise was called for a charge and then the Gaels put the game away with more free throws.