BCL Semifinal-John Carroll vs Archbishop Spalding
In this article:
Last night in the second of the two BCL semifinal matchups, the No. 6 John Carroll Patriots faced off against the No. 2 Archbishop Spalding Cavaliers. In what was one of the best games that we’ve seen in this shortened…
Access all of Prep Hoops
Continue reading this article and more.
Continue ReadingLast night in the second of the two BCL semifinal matchups, the No. 6 John Carroll Patriots faced off against the No. 2 Archbishop Spalding Cavaliers. In what was one of the best games that we’ve seen in this shortened MIAA/BCL season, John Carroll battled back yet again to win by a final score of 69-66. They’ve now won eight-straight contests and cement their spot in the BCL title game against the No. 1 seeded St. Frances Academy Panthers, who are looking to win their fourth-straight league championship.
Commander stays hot
2022 John Carroll guard Tyson Commander Tyson Commander 6'4" | SG The John Carroll School | 2022 State #203 Nation MD was key in their quarterfinal upset effort against Mount St. Joseph where he scored 22 point and hit timely shots late to help keep their lead. He once again came through when the Patriots needed him most as he scored nine of his 20 points in the final frame of play. After lighting up the nets last season from three, Commander was categorized as just a shooter, but he showed last night that he can get to the rim with regularity and finish or draw fouls. The threat of his outside shot forces his matchup to leave no space when guarding him on the perimeter. On multiple occasions, Commander would use a sweep through or a quick jab to get his defender off balance and attack the rim where he finished athletically. If John Carroll has any sort of chance against the juggernaut that is St. Frances, they’ll need another clutch performance out of the junior guard.
Whitmore logs valiant effort
The BCL Player of the Year scored 20 points in the loss last night for Spalding and with each game, shows why he was so deserving of that award. The 6-foot-7 junior had his usual couple of above the rim finishes that is a testament to his elite athleticism. On the defensive end he was disrupting almost any shot that came in the paint. There were a handful of lay ups that just snuck by his block attempts as the penetrating John Carroll guards did a nice job avoiding Whitmore as much as possible. Whitmore got into foul trouble early in the first quarter that limited his minutes as a whole in the first half, but he didn’t allow it to impact his aggressiveness when he was back on the floor. One criticism towards his supporting cast would be the fact that Whitmore continuously has mismatches on him when posting up on the block. He demanded the ball, but for whatever reason, his teammates were unable to take advantage of getting him his touches.
Basima was a man on a mission
This may have been the most aggressive game I’ve seen from 2023 John Carroll guard Jeannot Basima Jeannot Basima 6'3" | CG John Carroll | 2023 State #200 Nation MD . The 6-foot-4 slasher was determined to score any time the ball touched his hands and while Spalding got off to a strong start, Basima’s aggression kept John Carroll within distance in preparation for their eventual comeback. 15 of his 19 points came in the first two quarters. 11 of those 15 came in the second frame where John Carroll stormed back to find themselves down one heading into halftime. He was relentless on the backboards as indicated by his 12 rebounds, four of which came on the offensive end. It seems like Basima’s confidence grows with each game.
Peterson caps an improved season
2022 Spalding guard Tyheil Peterson Tyheil Peterson 5'10" | PG Archbishop Spalding | 2022 State MD has entrenched himself in the most improved player conversation for his play this season. Although he didn’t win, he put his name on the radar of many. The 5-foot-11 guard is a shifty, scoring combo guard who can do his damage from all three levels in a variety of ways. He plays with a competitive edge that you’d want your lead guard to have and as Spalding looks to enter next season as a legitimate title favorite, Peterson will be a big reason why.
John Carroll’s formula
Seeing the Patriots hit their stride over the last two weeks has been tremendous. They’re extremely unselfish in the half court and depend on a bevy of drive-and-kick passes that eventually wear defenses down and result in a clean look at the rim or an open three. The hectic pace in which they play is no secret. There’s never a time when a John Carroll player secures a defensive rebound and isn’t looking for a hail mary style of pass to streaking teammates. Defensively they’re in constant communication and ready for weakside rotations. On both ends they have rebound by committee, but especially on defense their first concern is limiting their opposition to one-shot possessions.
Against St. Frances, it’ll be difficult to keep that hectic pace and score with the Panthers. In the last meeting, this is what resulted in John Carroll losing 82-64. It’ll require them to control the pace, execute sets and handle the pressure that St. Frances provides for 32 minutes defensively. No team in the league has been able to handle that pressure thus far, but we’ll see if John Carroll can continue their cinderella run this evening.