Basketball News and Notes from around the MIAA
Big non-conference and league showdowns are upcoming as all three conferences make their final playoff pushes
by Derek Toney
The best of MIAA basketball is set to match-up with some of the nation’s elite Saturday at the 2nd annual A Very Melo Classic at Towson University’s TU Arena.
St. Frances Academy (20-7 overall), the reigning MIAA A Conference champ, will take on Washington Catholic Athletic Conference powerhouse Paul VI (Va.), the No. 1 squad in the District region by the Washington Post and the nation’s No. 3 team by Scorebook Live.
Mount St. Joseph (23-2) will face Sidwell Friends (D.C.), ranked No. 5 in the District. In the opening contest Saturday, Mount Carmel (19-7) plays the District’s No. 6 squad Bishop O’Connell (Va.).
O’Connell is led by forward Bryson Tucker, a McDonald’s All-American and consensus Top 30 prospect in the Class of 2024. Tucker played at Mount St. Joseph as freshman and sophomore, helping the Gaels to the MIAA A and Baltimore Catholic League Tournament crowns in 2022.
The final game will be a matchup of nationally-ranked with the District’s Gonzaga College (No. 16 nationally by Scorebook Live) and Long Island (N.Y.) Lutheran, ranked 6th nationally by Scorebook Live. Lutheran features 6-foot-5 junior shooting guard Kiyan Anthony, son of former Towson Catholic standout and future Basketball Hall of Famer Carmelo “Melo” Anthony.
Anthony, who started the event last year with his Baltimore-based Team Melo AAU organization, was the Baltimore Sun’s All-Metro Player of the Year and the Baltimore Catholic League Player of the Year as a junior at now-defunct Towson Catholic. He transferred to Oak Hill (Va.) Academy for his senior season, then, as a freshman, led Syracuse University to the NCAA Division I national championship.
First things first
Mount St. Joseph, Mount Carmel and St. Frances will be in action Friday evening as the MIAA regular season hits the home stretch.
The Gaels host Archbishop Spalding (14-6, 9-2) at The Smith Center in a matchup of the top two teams in the Black Division. Mount St. Joseph (10-1 Black Division) won the first contest, 56-50, in December and a win Friday would put the Gaels firmly in the driver’s seat for the Black Division’s top spot.
The Cavaliers (14-6, 9-2 Black), who got a huge victory at St. Frances earlier in the week, last defeated Mount St. Joseph in 2020.
St. Frances welcomes St. Maria Goretti for its Homecoming Friday evening in a Baltimore Catholic League match. It will be the final regular season match between the squads as Goretti will be closing its doors at the end of the current school year.
Mount Carmel (19-7, 8-2), which sits a half-game in front of St. Frances (8-3) in the Red Division, plays at McDonogh School (14-6, 6-4 Red) Friday evening, in the start of a monstrous stretch for the Cougars.
Mount Carmel will be at Calvert Hall Sunday, followed with road contests at John Carroll (Wednesday) and St. Frances (Friday).
Beth Tfiloh still on track
After winning its first league title in nearly a quarter-century last year, Beth Tfiloh has carried the momentum into this season. The Warriors (20-5 overall) are undefeated in MIAA C Conference play at 5-0.
Beth Tfiloh won 25 games last season, capped with a 65-58 victory over Saints Peter & Paul in the C final at UMBC. It was the Warriors’ first basketball championship since 2000.
Michael Cohen, the lone returning starter from last year, has been go-to performer this season for Beth Tfiloh. Last season, the 5-foot-9 guard, went for 35 points in last season’s C championship finale and totaled 63 in the Warriors’ two postseason matches.
Quick notes
Beth Tfiloh, Mount St. Joseph and St. Frances are the only MIAA squads with 20 victories…Severn, which is undefeated in MIAA B play (9-0; 15-5 overall), has the longest current win streak (10) among MIAA schools…Derik Queen, who played for St. Frances as a freshman in 2021 and is now playing for Florida private powerhouse Montverde Academy, was also selected to play in the McDonald’s All-American Game with Tucker.