The top four seeds in the 44th Baltimore Catholic League basketball tournament have advanced to Sunday's semifinal round, set for SECU Arena at Towson.
The opening game, at 5:30 p.m., will feature No. 5 John Carroll versus No. 9 St. Frances. No. 1 Calvert Hall and No. 3 Mount Carmel will play at 7:30. The winners will return to SECU Arena for Monday's title game, set for 7 p.m.
Here's a breakdown of the two semifinals:
John Carroll (26-6) vs. St. Frances (25-10)
The teams split their two regular-season games, with each winning at home. John Carroll got strong performances from senior guard Kimbal Mackenzie and senior forward Malik Tyne in a comfortable 53-30 win over Loyola Blakefield in Thursday's quarterfinal. St. Frances had a much tougher time getting past fifth-seeded St. Maria Goretti, 56-53, to advance Friday. Senior guard Daquan Bracey, who missed last week's Maryland Interscholastic Athletic Association A Conference playoffs with an ankle injury, returned to the lineup to score a team-high 17 points, while senior forward Josh Ayeni added 15.
Calvert Hall (27-5) vs. Mount Carmel (27-7)
The nightcap is a rematch of Calvert Hall's thrilling 71-68 win in Sunday's MIAA A Conference championship game at UMBC's RAC Arena. The game was tightly contested throughout the first half before the Cardinals, who got double-figure scoring from all five starters, appeared to take control, leading 65-48 with under five minutes to play. But the Cougars rallied and had the ball with a chance to tie in the closing seconds. Terry Nolan Jr.'s shot from the right corner, though, was off the mark. Calvert Hall senior point guard Reggie Rouse played a big role in the win, scoring 12 of his 14 points in the second half. Mount Carmel got 18 points from freshman Montez Mathis and 16 from Nolan.