As he approached the free throw line at UMBC’s RAC Arena on Feb. 24, 2014, Mount Saint Joseph senior guard Jordan McNeil made sure to consider the consequences.
The Gaels’ season-long goal of winning a third straight Baltimore Catholic League championship came down to two-tenths of a second with rival Calvert Hall’s two-point lead in the way.
“Moments like that is what you prepare for, especially in basketball, when you never know what may happen,” McNeil said.
“I was just thinking I want to go out with a win. I want it to be three years in a row and leave my legacy with this team. So I definitely wanted to make sure to come through for the guys.”
McNeil sank the two free throws to force the first overtime in BCL championship game history. He then carried his confidence into the extra time, hitting the deciding 3-pointer with 14 seconds left in the Gaels’ 72-69 win.
The game featured the top players from both teams at their best, momentum swings with neither team budging, the last-second drama to force the unprecedented overtime and a hero in McNeil.
To commemorate the Baltimore Catholic League’s 50th season, The Baltimore Sun recognizes the Mount Saint Joseph overtime victory against Calvert Hall in 2014 as the league’s all-time greatest championship game.
“You know the old saying ‘There’s really no loser in that game.’ Well, there is, but this was two great teams really determined to win a championship. Calvert Hall’s effort was valiant. My immediate feeling was ‘Damn, I’m glad that’s over and I’m glad we won,’” said Mount Saint Joseph coach Pat Clatchey.
In the end, it was the senior-laden Gaels led by Phil Booth, Jaylen Adams and McNeil that edged a junior-dominated Calvert Hall team with Drew Edwards, Nico Clareth and Evan Phoenix.
Booth was the steadying presence throughout, finishing with a game-high 28 points to earn the tournament’s Most Valuable Player Award. Adams and McNeil both scored 18 — Adams was particularly clutch in overtime to help keep the Gaels ahead and McNeil’s free throws and final 3-pointer proved the difference.
“We were pretty even coming into it, we knew each other very well and there wasn’t much left to scout, so we knew what was coming,” said Booth, who recalled the packed student sections on both sides bringing added electricity. “We had an older team, guys that had won BCL championships before with me and Jaylen, Jordan, Kyle Doran, Doc Barnes and, of course, coach Clatchey. So we had a lot of guys that were in the situation before and won those games. We had the chemistry down pat and we just dug deep. I think our experience really helped us.”
In the regular season, the teams split two games as both finished with 11-3 BCL marks to share first place.
Mount Saint Joe, which defeated St. Frances to claim the Maryland Interscholastic Athletic Association A Conference title the week before, rolled to the BCL title game with an 88-59 semifinal win over the Panthers. Calvert Hall enjoyed a big third quarter to shake off John Carroll, 59-47, in its semifinal.
In the championship game, the Cardinals started better and had a 26-17 advantage midway through the second quarter. But behind Booth, the Gaels responded and their 9-0 run in the third quarter provided a 43-38 lead nearing the fourth.
Edwards, who finished with a team-high 21 points, hit two 3-pointers early in the fourth to bring the Cardinals back and when Clareth hit one free throw with 20 seconds left, they had a 60-58 lead.
Mount Saint Joe called timeout to set up a final play.
“When you’re in the moment, the intensity is so high and as a competitor, that’s when things are the most fun,” said former Calvert Hall coach John Bauersfeld. “Every possession counts. Every decision you make as a coach counts. Every sub you make has such a huge consequence on the game. Any hypercompetitive coach will tell you that’s the most fun.”
Calvert Hall’s plan on defense was basic: Don’t let Booth, Adams or McNeil get the shot off that could make the difference.
They succeeded in the plan. It was Doran who launched a 3-pointer from the left corner with 4. 9 seconds left that missed. But the ball bounced off a leg and then eluded a number of hands before finding its way to McNeil on the right side, just outside of the lane.
“The ball just bounced toward me and I tried to put it up as fast as I could,” McNeil said. “Usually during those times, refs don’t call fouls. But [Clareth] — I guess he was diving for the ball, but my body was there — so I just acted like I was shooting and the ref called it.”
McNeil was a good free-throw shooter all season, but made only two of his four tries earlier in the game before stepping up for the most important moment of his high school career. With the two-tenths of a second showing on the clock, he felt focused, not nervous.
“Once I made the first one, the second one was just going to happen,” he said.
Edwards says he remembers the game — and in particular the final seconds — like it was yesterday. It still hurts him to this day.
“We thought we had them. We thought we had it … until that last second,” Edwards said. “We got one of the other guys to take the shot and we were like this was what we wanted. We played our butts off and the shot ended up short and then there was just like a scramble. I was looking at the ball and I was so close to it, but I just couldn’t get to it. It was fumbling around — like it was slow motion, I swear it took an hour — and I’m watching. Then McNeil grabs the ball and Nico is just going after it and [McNeil] did have the ball and threw it up and they called a foul. We were all like ‘No way!’ And then Jordan knocked down those dag-gone free throws like it was nothing. He had ice in his veins.”
With the momentum, the Gaels took the initiative and never trailed in overtime. And while the Cardinals were deflated, they still answered three times to draw even, the last on an Edwards’ 3-pointer with 48 seconds left.
McNeil was primed to finish the job. He took a short pass from Pierre Johnson and nailed a 3-pointer above the key with 16 seconds left.
On the Cardinals’ final possession, Clareth worked his way to the top of the key, stepped back and launched a potential tying 3-pointer that was on line, but bounced off the back of the rim.
“I kind of sensed that we may bend, but we weren’t going to buckle,” Clatchey said. “I think it was important to the guys for the seniors on that team, it was like ‘Hey man, this is special to make it three in a row.’ Calvert Hall was a very formidable opponent with the guys they had, so the game had a high level of talent with a lot at stake.”
For everybody involved, on the winning and losing sides, the game has come to be deservedly appreciated.
And the experienced gained from it has served a great purpose for some of those involved.
Two year later, Booth, then a sophomore guard at Villanova, would have a similar performance with higher stakes in helping the Wildcats claim a 77-74 win over North Carolina in the NCAA title game. He scored a team-high 20 points — going 6-for-7 from the field including two 3-pointers and was good on all six of his free throws.
For Adams, the game is part of the fabric that has helped him make it in the NBA as he’s currently signed with the Milwaukee Bucks on a two-way contract.
As for the Cardinals, the loss fueled them for the following season. They returned to the BCL title game and had their hero when Justin Gorham tipped home the winning basket at the buzzer to beat John Carroll, 53-52.
50th BCL TOURNAMENT
Monday, March 22 Quarterfinals
(all games at 6 p.m.)
8 Calvert Hall at 1 St. Frances
7 St. Maria Goretti at 2 Archbishop Spalding
6 John Carroll at 3 Mount St. Joseph
5 Loyola at 4 Mount Carmel
Wednesday, March 24 Semifinals
(site TBA)
5/4 winner vs. 8/1 winner, 5:30 p.m.
6/3 winner vs. 7/2 winner, 7:30 p.m.
Friday, March 26 Championship
(site TBA)
Semifinal winners, 6 p.m.