The No. 1 Mount Carmel boys basketball team was unsettled in the first half against No. 9 St. Frances in Thursday's Maryland Interscholastic Athletic Association A Conference semifinal.
The halftime talk from coach Tom Rose was basic: Stick with what has worked all season.
The Cougars ramped up the defense and shared the ball on offense. After trailing by nine points at the break, the Cougars got 23 points from Frank Webb Jr. and had three others reach double figures while finally cooling off the Panthers to come away with a 73-59 home win that sent them to Sunday's championship game.
Mount Carmel (26-6) will meet No. 3 Calvert Hall — a 75-61 winner over No. 5 John Carroll in Thursday's other semifinal — at 5:30 p.m. Sunday at UMBC's RAC Arena. The Cougars, shaky and off their game at the start Thursday, showed poise in getting there.
"We had to pick up our defensive intensity and we brought the chemistry together and started working together," Webb said. "We're just a family. We get everybody involved, make sure everybody gets touches the ball and get their points and we just pick each other up when we're down."
The Panthers (24-10) were coming off an impressive 80-52 quarterfinal win over Mount Saint Joseph Tuesday and, while they weren't as precise on offense, looked comfortable in claiming a 34-25 halftime lead largely earned on solid zone defense.
But the Cougars came with more defensive intensity in the third quarter and it showed with a couple early stops that enabled them to get into their offensive rhythm. Webb Jr. scored on a driving layup early in the quarter, hit a 3-pointer a bit later and the Cougars balanced attack took it from there.
Junior center David Erebor (11 points) converted a three-point play; Brian Jefferson Jr. (13 points) made a 3-pointer and then Terry Nolan Jr. (10 points) made a 3-pointer and came back with two free throws to give the Cougars a 43-42 lead with 34 seconds left in the third quarter.
From there, the Cougars went on a 12-0 run early in the fourth quarter – a 3-pointer from Nolan providing a 55-47 lead with 5:08 to play – that set the tone for the rest of the game.
"It's a special group," Rose said. "The seniors stepped up the way they had to, the young guys stepped up. There's so many guys that helped us tonight and that's what made us good all year – it's nothing new."
St. Frances got strong games from guards Khalil Richard (20 points) and Kurk Lee Jr. (17 points), but had their post players in foul trouble for much of the second half. Josh Ayeni and Eric Cobb both fouled out and were limited to a combined 11 points.
Mount Carmel takes a 19-game winning streak into Sunday's championship game against Calvert Hall. The teams split two games in the regular season, with the Cardinals claiming a 59-51 home win on Dec. 3 before the Cougars took a 93-90 home win on Jan. 18.
No. 3 Calvert Hall 75, No. 5 John Carroll 61: Drew Edwards (25 points) and Evan Phoenix (20) combined for 45 points and the host Cardinals (25-5) beat the Patriots (25-6) in an MIAA A Conference semifinal.
Calvert Hall jumped out to a 12-4 lead in the first quarter and led 35-24 at halftime. John Carroll, led by Kimbal Mackenzie with 25 points, had some success with a full-court press in the second half but couldn't catch up.
"We executed very well," Cardinals coach John Bauersfeld said.