Baltimore Catholic League

- Poor shooting does in the Gaels in the Baltimore Catholic League tournament final. BALTIMORE - Monday night in the Baltimore Catholic League championship game, the St. Maria Goretti boys basketball team got into a staring contest - with itself. Its defense never blinked against Archbishop Spalding, but the offense flinched big time in the form of turnovers and missed jumpers. In the end, the Gaels lost the internal tug-of-war and the game, as the Cavaliers added a tournament championship to their regular-season title with a 45-36 victory at Goucher College.

BOYS BASKETBALL BALTIMORE - Kevin O'Connell made two free throws with 4.8 seconds left to lift Loyola Blakefield past St. Maria Goretti 44-42 in the Baltimore Catholic League on Sunday. Benny Alencherry had 11 points and four assists for the Gaels (9-17, 3-9), who managed just 13 points in the second half after holding a 29-22 lead at halftime. Kevin Breslin had 10 points and five assists, Kevin Brashears had nine points and Gene Johnson grabbed six rebounds. Loyola (13-9, 7-4)

BOYS BASKETBALL TOWSON, Md. - St. Maria Goretti lost its second straight game, falling to Towson Catholic 64-30 on Sunday in the Baltimore Catholic League. The Gaels (8-5, 0-2) had only four players score, led by Joey Spierenburg's 12 points. Kevin Brashears and Gene Johnson shot a combined 0-for-18 from the floor. Towson Catholic (12-1, 2-0) took full command of the game in the second half, outscoring Goretti, 31-10. Marcus Green led the winners with 17 points.

koelble@herald-mail.com St. Maria Goretti boys basketball coach Cokey Robertson has been stressing to his team this month that the basketball must be shot in order to score more points. Generally, that is not a new concept in basketball. What's new for the Gaels is that some players are listening. The Goretti offense has perked up since the start of February and it hit high gear Saturday with an 81-40 thrashing of Jefferson at the Gael Center. The Gaels are 7-2 this month, elevating their record to 16-13 after their fourth straight win heading into today's Baltimore Catholic League season finale at home against Calvert Hall.

St. Maria Goretti boys basketball team couldn't get the offense going on Sunday afternoon. As a result, the Gaels were stuck in neutral as Calvert Hall posted a 56-46 Baltimore Catholic League victory at the Gael Center. "We're not running a very good offense," Goretti coach Cokey Robertson said. "We work hard on defense, but our offense is struggling right now. We got very few transition baskets. We need to get some more wins. We have had a disappointing showing in the Baltimore Catholic League.

Mother Nature made two major city rivalries wait for 24 more hours. Thanks to Friday's snowstorm, both the No. 5 North Hagerstown/South Hagerstown and No. 1 Thomas Johnson/No. 3 Frederick boys basketball matchups were rescheduled for this evening, along with several other prep contests. In town, the Rebels and Hubs will square off at North this evening at 6:30, following the completion of the girls game. In Frederick, the Patriots will put their undefeated record on the line on in the Cadets' gym tonight at 6 following the JV game.

BOYS BASKETBALL TOWSON, Md. - St. Maria Goretti shut down Loyola Blakefield in the middle two periods on the way to a 57-49 victory Sunday in the Baltimore Catholic League. The Gaels (11-11, 2-8) roared back from a 17-11 deficit after one period to outscore the Dons (7-17, 0-9) 31-10 in the second and third periods. Mike Nelson led Goretti with 16 points and also pulled down eight rebounds. Joey Spierenburg had 12 points, including eight of Goretti's 13 in the second quarter.

BOYS BASKETBALL BALTIMORE -- Dylan Cormier scored a game-high 24 points to lead Cardinal Gibbons to a 67-50 Baltimore Catholic League win over St. Maria Goretti on Sunday. Stephon Berry had 12 points and 10 rebounds for Goretti (3-6, 0-2), while Tyler Sterling had 10 points and Nic Martin added nine points, five rebounds and five assists. Germantown 60, Mercersburg 53 FORT WASHINGTON, Pa. -- Cam Ayers scored 17 points to lead Germantown Academy to an overtime win over Mercersburg Academy on Saturday.

Goretti wins for share of BCL title By JACK HILL III / Staff Correspondent Senior Rodney Gibson added to his long list of accomplishments for the No. 6 St. Maria Goretti boys basketball team on Sunday in his final regular-season home game at the Gael Center. continued In the second quarter, Gibson scored his 1,500th career point on a 3-point play before he and the rest of the Gaels nailed down a 63-39 victory over the St. Frances Panthers to clinch a tie for the regular-season championship in the Baltimore Catholic League.

The St. Maria Goretti boys basketball team blew two 10-point leads, but dug deep in the final minutes to pull out a 58-56 victory over Archbishop Spalding on Sunday at the Gael Center. After losing to Spalding on Wednesday, Goretti needed a win over the Cavaliers to maintain hope of finishing fourth in the Baltimore Catholic League, which would earn it a first-round home game in the postseason tournament. Spalding (18-8, 7-4) held a 56-52 lead with just under three minutes remaining when the Gaels (18-9, 7-6)

Cokey Robertson coached many, many players during his 34 years as boys basketball coach at St. Maria Goretti. When asked about the all-time greats he had, Rodney Monroe obviously heads the list. But it doesn't take long for him to mention Phil Lane, a three-year starter at point guard. The 5-foot-11 Lane was the glue that kept everything together during his time, which ended with graduation in 1996. He was the catalyst behind three seasons of 20-plus wins, averaging 18 points a game in his junior year and 24 points and eight assists as a senior.

From Richard Keller to Cokey Robertson, the first induction class to St. Maria Goretti Athletic Hall of Fame covers a lifetime, dating back to 1948 when the was school known as Saint Mary High School. Six individuals from that heritage were formally inducted at a luncheon ceremony on Saturday as Keller, Robertson were joined by Bill Wills, Rodney Monroe, Susie Garrott Brown and Jen Piccolomini as the first inductees to be enshrined. The history runs deep as Keller led Washington County in scoring with 338 points in 1948.

HAGERSTOWN -- St. Maria Goretti has its man to carry the Gaels into the next decade of boys basketball. Amrit Rayfield, 36, was named the new head coach Friday by Goretti Athletic Director David Blenckstone. He succeeds Chad Brashears, who coached two seasons after taking over for retired coach Cokey Robertson. Rayfield is a native of Crisfield, Md., where he graduated from high school and played basketball for two years under his father and coach, Philip. He then went on to Davis & Elkins College, where he graduated in 1997 and was a four-year starter for the Senators.

The nightcap of tonight's opening round of the 27th Mid-Atlantic Invitational Tournament could be considered the late undercard of the heavyweight opener. That game will feature highly touted Good Counsel (Md.) and Benedictine (Va.) at 6 p.m. at the Gael Center in the season debut for both teams. It will be followed by host St. Maria Goretti and John Carroll. That puts Goretti coach Chad Brashears and John Carroll coach Tony Martin in basic agreement. "Our goal is to get to the championship game on Saturday, but whomever we play will be so tough," said Brashears, in his second season at the Gaels' helm.

BOYS BASKETBALL No. 6 South Hagerstown shook off a slow start and outscored Hancock 40-14 in the second half on its way to a 61-32 nonconference victory over the Panthers on Thursday. The Rebels (9-7) rallied to take a 21-18 lead at halftime after trailing the Panthers (2-14) by one at the end of the first quarter. "We came off that two-overtime game in Frederick and thought we had a cake walk, I believe," South coach Kevin Naylor said. "After I went through the sermon at halftime, everything sort of changed.

Towson Catholic jumped to an 11-0 lead and never looked back, posting a 74-44 victory over St. Maria Goretti on Sunday. The loss kept Goretti (6-20, 0-12) winless in the Baltimore Catholic League. Nic Martin had 17 points and seven assists for the Gaels, who committed 17 turnovers and allowed Towson Catholic 18 offensive rebounds. Devin Spencer led Towson Catholic (11-8, 5-5) with 18 points. Towson Catholic 74St. Maria Goretti 44 TOWSON CATHOLIC (11-8, 5-5) Sizer 13, DeShields 4, Spencer 18, Hahn 4, N. Levi 10, May-Thompson 6, Noel Walter 10, Harrell 3, Storey 6. Totals 25 19-22 74. GORETTI (6-20, 0-12)

BOYS BASKETBALL St. Frances Academy 96, St. Maria Goretti 38 BALTIMORE -- Baltimore Catholic League powerhouse St. Frances Academy muscled up on St. Maria Goretti to reach the 20-win mark on the season and keep the Gaels winless in league play. Terrell Vinson scored 22 points for St. Frances (20-3, 9-0), who raced to a quick 22-2 lead after the first period and 54-12 by halftime. Nic Martin led Goretti (6-18, 0-10) with 17 points and seven rebounds. St. Frances Academy 96, St. Maria Goretti 38 GORETTI (6-18, 0-10)

BOYS BASKETBALL BALTIMORE -- Dylan Cormier scored a game-high 24 points to lead Cardinal Gibbons to a 67-50 Baltimore Catholic League win over St. Maria Goretti on Sunday. Stephon Berry had 12 points and 10 rebounds for Goretti (3-6, 0-2), while Tyler Sterling had 10 points and Nic Martin added nine points, five rebounds and five assists. Germantown 60, Mercersburg 53 FORT WASHINGTON, Pa. -- Cam Ayers scored 17 points to lead Germantown Academy to an overtime win over Mercersburg Academy on Saturday.