5 Takeaways: BCL Championship
Last night at Reitz Arena on the campus of Loyola Maryland University, a war for the BCL title took place between St. Frances and St. Maria Goretti. Goretti had control for the majority of this game, but late in the…
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Continue ReadingLast night at Reitz Arena on the campus of Loyola Maryland University, a war for the BCL title took place between St. Frances and St. Maria Goretti. Goretti had control for the majority of this game, but late in the fourth, the Panthers made a push to put them in position to win in dramatic fashion by a final score of 71-68.
Here are five takeaways from the game:
Ace Baldwin plays hero….again.
It was a tie game and just a bit over nine seconds on the clock. St. Frances had to go the length of the floor. Goretti threw two defenders on Baldwin to make it difficult for him to the get the ball out of the inbound. Instead, it was Rajeir Jones who broke free and dribbled the length of the court. As Jones did this, Baldwin found space between his two defenders as he crossed half court and he immediately bee-lined straight to the ball. Jones pitches the ball to Baldwin and the 6-foot-1 point guard rises up from 25 feet to drain the game-winning three. Almost the exact same shot that Baldwin hit earlier this season at the Chick-Fil-A Classic to upset Memphis East. It wasn’t only that shot for Baldwin in the fourth quarter, though. He finished with 11 points, five assists, four steals and two rebounds in the final eight minutes. Baldwin’s final stat line included: 25 points, eight assists, seven steals, and six rebounds. You literally can’t ask for anything else from a player when the game is on the line. Baldwin cemented himself last night as the Baltimore Metro Player of the Year.
Two nights ago Sidwell Friends @sfsboysbball hit a crazy buzzer beater to win the DC championship…
Tonight St Frances @SFA_Basketball junior Ace Baldwin @yeah_ace3 hits a crazier buzzer beater 3 to win the Baltimore Catholic League Championship … here it is….. pic.twitter.com/eKLRwjqHiA— Capitol Hoops (@CapitolHoops) March 6, 2019
Abdou Tsimbila impresses in front of his future coaches
A few members from the Penn State coaching staff was their to see their incoming big man Abdou Tsimbila, and he didn’t disappoint. The 6-foot-8 forward recorded a double-double with 15 points and 12 rebounds. He was an enforcer in the paint defensively for the Gaels, as indicated by his four blocks, but Tsimbila distorted many other shots that came in the paint, he just didn’t get a hand on them. He played with great energy and made a number of clutch plays for his team. The coaching staff had to be encouraged by his performance.
The Jamal West destruction tour continues
West may be on the biggest tear I’ve seen in recent memory considering what he’s done since his 41-points 12-rebound outing in the quarterfinals of the MIAA A Conference playoffs. Since that game, his point totals for each game look like this: 41, 21, 28, and 28 (last night). The 6-foot-5 wing finished with a team-high 28 points on 11-of-22 shooting and pulled down nine rebounds. West carried St. Frances in the beginning quarters by scoring nine points in the first and eight in the second. He was held to four points in the third before recording seven in the last frame. Still to this day, there hasn’t been a team in the league to contain West. My guess is, he’ll be on the mind of many coaches this summer.
Jamal West @Jamalwest17 delivers the hammer for @SFA_Basketball in the BCL championship. St Frances down 21-18…. pic.twitter.com/TL3RzDww0U
— Capitol Hoops (@CapitolHoops) March 6, 2019
Golek and Blakney put together solid outings
A pair of seniors in Przemek Golek and RJ Blakney finished with 14 points and 17 points respectively for Goretti. Golek got off to a blazing start, scoring eight of his 14 in the first quarter, and was really the one to credit for Goretti’s strong lead. Blakney made his impact more so in the fourth quarter keeping the game tight by getting to the free-throw line and converting. The 6-foot-5 guard went a perfect 6-for-6 from the free-throw line, all of which came in the fourth. Golek was key defensively as always in rotating on the weakside to draw charges on the penetrating St. Frances guards.
St. Frances wins back-to-back BCL titles and completes the sweep
The Panthers secured their second-straight BCL Championship last night and also completed the sweep of the BCL and MIAA. This hasn’t been done since 2013 when Mt. St. Joe won both leagues. It speaks to how strong this team ended the season and made cemented their slot as the best team in Baltimore. The fact that they’ve played 41 games and have been able to withstand all of the physical toll it takes to do so, makes this achievement even more impressive. Still, the season isn’t over yet as they travel to play DeMatha in the historic Alhambra Tournament this Thursday. We’ll see if the Panthers can keep writing history.