John Carroll stuns St. Frances Academy to win Baltimore Catholic League tournament

Byron Ireland, a St. Frances Academy senior, makes a three-pointer at the buzzer to tie the Baltimore Catholic League tournament championship game and send it into overtime. (Kevin J. Parks/CR Staff)

TOWSON — After carrying his team for almost the entire game, it seemed only fitting that John Carroll sophomore Jeannot Basima had the ball in his hands to seal an improbable victory.

Basima scored 29 points and made a pair of free throws with 5.7 seconds remaining in overtime to give the sixth-seeded Patriots a 66-62 victory over top-seeded and three-time defending champion St. Frances Academy in the title game of the 50th annual Baltimore Catholic League tournament March 26 at Calvert Hall.

“It was no pressure. I just knew if I hit those two free throws it was over,” said Basima, a 6-foot-4-inch guard who was named the tournament MVP. “We got it done. We just came out with a lot of energy.”

John Carroll is just the second No. 6 seed to win the BCLtournament title, the other being Towson Catholic in 1989. It’s the Patriots’ third BCL title overall and the first since 2016, when they were led by another sophomore, Immanuel Quickley, now of the New York Knicks.

Junior Tyson Commander made four crucial 3-pointers in the third quarter en route to 16 points for John Carroll (11-5). Jalen Bryant added 12 points for the Patriots.

John Carroll was just seconds away from winning in regulation until Byron Ireland of St. Frances Academy made an off-balance 3-pointer at the buzzer to force a tie at 62, and the extra period.

Neither team managed a field goal in overtime. Bryant and Commander each made a free throw and Basima sank both of his attempts to seal the victory.

John Carroll’s Cesar Tchilombo fights for a rebound during the Baltimore Catholic League tournament final March 26 at Calvert Hall. (Kevin J. Parks/CR Staff)

“It’s purely about how you carry ourselves, who we are and how we stand together in the toughest moments, and tonight we showed that,” John Carroll coach Seth Goldberg said. “We had five guys on every defensive board.”

It was the first championship game in BCL history between a No. 6 seed and a No. 1 seed. The Panthers entered with a 15-0 record, but fell short of becoming the first unbeaten BCL team since Calvert Hall went 34-0 in 1981-82 and won the Alhambra Catholic Invitational Tournament to clinch a mythical national championship.

Ireland led St. Francis with 20 points, while Derik Queen added 16 points and Julan Reese had 12 points.

It was the ninth straight win for John Carroll, which became the first team in tournament history with wins over the top three seeds, having already upset No. 3 Mount St. Joseph in the quarterfinals and No. 2 Archbishop Spalding in the semifinals. The Patriots kept St. Frances Academy mostly on its heels with a high-pressure defense but still trailed by five at the break.

The Patriots continued to play up-tempo and Basima scored six points in an 8-0 run to open the third quarter and John Carroll retook the lead, 35-32. John Carroll continued to pull away behind the hot shooting of Commander who made four 3-pointers that increased the lead to 52-43 at the end of the third quarter.

St. Frances Academy fought back and stayed within striking distance before Ireland made the improbable 3-pointer at the buzzer to force overtime. The Panthers struggled to get to the basket in the extra period and failed to get key rebounds, however, which opened the door for John Carroll to earn the victory.

“It was a tough day but a great season,” St. Frances Academy coach

Nicholas Myles said. “We put a lot of blood, sweat and tears to get to this

moment and just couldn’t finish. We couldn’t score.”

Basima was joined on the all-tournament team by Bryant and Commander, Ireland and Derik Queen of St. Frances Academy and Archbishop Spalding’s Cameron Whitmore. Andrew Dixon of Our Lady of Mount Carmel won the Sportsmanship Award.

It was the first overtime championship game since 2014 when Mount St. Joseph defeated Calvert Hall to claim its third straight tournament title.

This year’s tournament was the first that didn’t conclude on a college campus, as COVID-19 sent it to Calvert Hall, where there were no ticket sales to the general public. Each player was allowed two family members, which contributed to a loud atmosphere despite the limited numbers.

Use the navigation arrows below to see a slideshow of images taken by Kevin J. Parks.

To see more photos or order prints, visit our Smugmug page here.