Mount Carmel caps historic basketball season with first BCL Tournament title

After winning only four league games during the regular season, Mount St. Joseph played much better than its sixth seeding suggested in the 54th Baltimore Catholic League Tournament this week,

Our Lady of Mount Carmel junior Gage Howard puts an exclamation point on their 53-38 victory with just seconds left in the Baltimore Catholic League Championship March 3, 2025, at Loyola University Maryland in Baltimore. (Kevin J. Parks/CR Staff)

The Gaels (22-17) ousted third-seeded Archbishop Spalding, 66-65, in the opening round before eliminating No. 2 St. Frances Academy, 58-56, in a semifinal — giving Gaels coach Pat Clatchey his 850th career win and an opportunity to claim the program’s ninth BCLT title March 4 at Loyola University Maryland’s Reitz Arena.
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The opponent in that match, Our Lady of Mount Carmel, had recently earned its first Maryland Interscholastic Athletic Association A Conference crown and proceeded to rise into what Cougars coach Tony Martin called “rare air” by beating the Gaels, 53-38, to sweep the MIAA and BCLT championships.

That the top seed used a stifling man-to-man defense to stifle Mount St. Joe’s offense did not surprise Clatchey.

The Cougars (34-4), who broke a seven-game losing streak to the Gaels by sweeping all three meetings between the schools this winter, showed what a shut-down ‘D’ can do when it’s clicking.

“They’re physical and athletic,” Clatchey said. “We struggled to move the ball, struggled to score. They got better and easier shots than us. Everything was a struggle for us.”

Mount St. Joe’s second-lowest scoring output of the season came against the same team that held them to 37 points in late January. On Monday, the Gaels were held to 33 percent shooting from the floor and a paltry 7 percent (1-for-13) from beyond the 3-point arc while being out-rebounded, 38-23.

Mount Carmel wasn’t much better from long range (1-for-8), but converted its other shots at a 45 percent clip.

All in all, it was more than enough for the Cougars to never trail in a satisfying victory that helped Martin go well over the 500-win mark during a 23-year career in Maryland and North Carolina. It was also the first time Mount Carmel hoisted a BCLT banner.

“We said before the game that it would be a race to see who gets to 50 or 55 (points first),” Clatchey said. “And they won the race.”

“Nobody gets a day off,” Martin said about his team’s defensive prowess. “We just wanted to extend our defense and play reasonably well against a guy like (6-foor-2 junior guard) BJ (Ranson). It’s difficult, but we put a couple of defenders on him. Team defense wins.”

Our Lady of Mount Carmel senior Rodney Scott makes a behind-the back pass despite the best efforts of Mount St. Joseph defenders. (Kevin J. Parks/CR Staff)

Ransom (10 points) and 6-foot-3 senior forward Joseph Green (11) were the only Gaels to score in double digits while only one Cougar, Gage Howard (14), managed the feat.

Yet, Mount Carmel received scoring contributions from a slew of other players, including 6-foot-9 sophomore Junior Mancha (9), senior guards Mario Tatum (9) and Rodney Scott (6), sophomore guard Samartine Hill (6) and 6-foot-8 junior forward Ralph Rudusans (5).

Howard, a 6-foot-8 junior forward, tossed in a soft baseline 3-pointer to open the scoring and closed out the Gaels in the final seconds of the fourth quarter with a thunderous slam.

The Gaels never got closer than three points of drawing even, and that only happened twice — both times in the opening period when Chauncey Word finished a fast break and fellow freshmen guard nailed a baseline jumper.

“Look, there are so many guys we could go to,” Martin said. “I felt bad at times to put somebody in the game for a guy who was playing well. We just happened to be clicking on all cylinders.”

Mark Rohde, left, assistant commissioner of the Baltimore Catholic League and former player at what is now Loyola Blakefield, presents BCL Commissioner Jack Degele with an award in recognition of his 25-years of service to the league during the championship game. (Kevin J. Parks/CR Staff)

Tatum, who was named the tournament Most Valuable Player after leading his team in plus-minus in the final, said he saw the team coming together in summer workouts.

“We were on the track running,” he said. “We never gave up. We were diligent in everything. We shut them down. They couldn’t stop us on the offensive end, so we shut them down and stopped them.”

BCL Commissioner Jack Degele was honored after the first quarter for his 25 years of service to the organization.

“It’s a labor of love,” he said. “I love basketball and I played in the league (at St. Joe). I love doing it and I’m very fortunate to have Mark Rhode and Chris Pika helping me. It’s taken this to another notch.”