February 29, 2004 Quinn Reports from BCL Tournament- Spald v CH by Jim Quinn MDVarsity.com Magazine Staff MdVarsity.com traveled to Goucher College in Towson last night to watch some of the first round action in the 33rd annual BCL Tournament. In the evening’s third game, Archbishop Spalding topped Calvert Hall 66-57 behind a 22 point, 10 rebound, 5 steal, 6 dunk and 2 blocked shot effort by 6’9” All-American forward Rudy Gay. The senior from Essex, who was selected BCL Player of the Year earlier this week, scored 16 of his points in the first half. During a three minute stretch in the second quarter, Gay scored 11 of Spalding’s 12 points. Gay had plenty of help last night as senior point guard Jesse Brooks had 8 points, 8 assists and 3 steals. Four of Brooks’ assists resulted in spectacular Rudy Gay dunks. Spalding Coach Mike Glick also got excellent performances off the bench from sophomore forward Johan Jones and junior guard Marquis Sullivan. The stands at Goucher were nearly packed for Friday’s first round. This weekend’s Tournament, which will end on Monday night, figures to be one of the best and most competitive BCL Tournaments ever. Spalding, Mt. St. Joe’s, Cardinal Gibbons, and St. Frances are all among the top teams in Baltimore. Towson Catholic, Calvert Hall, and St. Maria Goretti all have talent and have picked-up some quality wins this year. As a testament to the BCL’s depth this year, Towson Catholic, who defeated Friendly HS and Eleanor Roosevelt HS this year, only finished 6-8 in BCL play this year! Spalding came into the BCL Tournament fresh off winning the MIAA “A” Tournament earlier in the week. Spalding has won three of the last five BCL Tournaments and lost last year’s Championship game at the buzzer by one point to Mt. St. Joe’s. The Cavaliers failed to convert five tip-in attempts in the last 8 seconds of last year’s loss. Spalding jumped to a quick 8-0 lead last night against the Cardinals and led at the end of the first quarter, 18-6. The Cavaliers created numerous fast break opportunities off of Cardinal turnovers in the face of Spalding’s tough pressure defense. Calvert Hall’s talented 6’1” junior guard Ricky Harris found the three-point range in the second quarter and the Cardinals cut the lead to 20-18 before Gay became a one man wrecking crew. Over the next three minutes, Gay scored 11 points in an electrifying fashion: two crushing alley-oop dunks off of Jesse Brooks feeds; a three-pointer from beyond the top of the key; a gorgeous turnaround baseline jumper; and an offensive follow tip-in. When the dust had settled, Spalding was back up by a 32-22 measure and Calvert Hall did not get back within 10 points again until they hit a meaningless three pointer at the final buzzer. Coach Glick got a lift off the bench in the first half from 6’4” sophomore forward Johann Jones. A high energy rebounding/defensive specialist for Spalding this year, Jones played his role perfectly last night as he collected 6 rebounds and 2 steals in the first half. Jones finished with 9 rebounds and 3 steals. He also had 6 points, all three baskets off of follow-ups and transition hustle plays. Spalding also got a fine performance from 6’ junior wing guard Marquis Sullivan. Sullivan went scoreless in the first half, but had 9 points in the third quarter. Sullivan then proceeded to get Spalding’s first two baskets of the fourth quarter as the Cavaliers extended their lead to58-38. Sullivan finished with 15 points – all in the second half! Calvert Hall got some fine individual performances as well, most notably from their talented guard Ricky Harris. A quick, aggressive player with deep three-point range, Harris had 5 steals to go with his 17 points. He hit 3 three pointers Harris, who was voted Second Team All-BCL this year, will no doubt be a Division One college recruit next year. Though he didn’t shoot particularly well last night, the Cardinal’s rugged 6’5” center/forward Maurice Martin had a solid game with 11 points, 7 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals, and a block. Martin also played pretty good defense on Rudy Gay when the Cavaliers had to play in a half court set, but, all too often for Cardinal Coach Mark Amatucci, the Cavaliers were able to run in transition off of steals and rebounds. The Cardinal’s 6’7” junior Ryan Hourihan, a transfer in his first year in the Calvert Hall program, spurred a brief third quarter comeback as he scored three impressive baskets in a row: a reverse lay-up over Gay; a three point play off of an offensive rebound; and a turnaround bank shot in the lane. Hourihan finished with 9 points. With Harris, Hourihan, junior forward Calvin Wise and and sophomore guard Russell Frederick (10 points, including 2 three pointers) returning, Coach Amatucci has the nucleus of a fine team for next season. The Cardinals also reportedly have some very talented young players in their program. But last night belonged to Spalding and Gay. It was only appropriate that Gay threw down a windmill dunk with 4 seconds left as an exclamation point for the Cavalier victory!

February 23, 2004 by Mark Thomas MDVarsity.com Magazine Staff Rudy Gay made sure that he won't have an asterisk next to his name as one of the great players who didn't win a championship, putting on a "Slam-Fest", with 7 highlight reel dunks leading Spalding to a 64-45 win in the MIAA Tournament Title game. Gay was sensational, scoring 29 points on 12-15 shooting (including a made 3-pointer), grabbing 8 rebounds, 3 steals and blocking 6 shots (one took place right in front of the large Gibbons student section and Gay saluted them after the block). 19 of the points and 5 of the blocks came by halftime when the competitive portion of the game was largely over, with Spalding up 30-12. With a big second half lead, the only challenge left for Gay was to shut up a good-natured Gibbons heckler who was camped out on the baseline with the rest of the overflow crowd. In the Gilman gym a Fire Marshall sign read "Capacity 1000", which was clearly surpassed by at least 500. Even players' parents were turned away at the door. "The Rudy show is over!" the jean jacket wearing, burly man kept yelling in a voice that was a dead on impersonation of former Hollywood star Mr. T. After making a basket, Rudy would give the man a cold glance as if to ask if the man had more to give. The heckler stayed on Rudy and Rudy kept answering. In the 4th quarter, the two counterparts were only a few feet apart as free throus were being shot. The heckler had a few more words for Gay. One of Gay's friends got Rudy's attention by yelling "Hey Rudy, I'm going to push him out on the court so you can dunk on him. Gay laughed and moments later, it almost came true. With under 2:00 to play in regulation, Gay's teammates got him the ball ahead of the pack. The only question was what trick would Rudy pull out of his bag? And after 6 previous dunks, how much did his legs have left in them? Gay received the pass and his eyes locked on the basket like a heat-seeking missle. The flames of which were only fanned by the show-stopping, windmill slam in which Gay brought the ball back down to his waist as he wound up and then threw down with vicious force. The place went ballistic and the fans mobbed the heckler. A smile broke out on Rudy Gay's face as for the night, the Rudy Gay show was now officially over and on his own terms. Play stopped and Rudy checked out of the game, exchanging a big embrace with head coach Mike Glick. The hug said so much about all they'd been through together since Gay's arrival at Spalding for his junior year. The appearance in the MIAA title game was Spalding 6th straight trip to the finals, three of which the Cavaliers had won. Two years ago, Spalding won both the MIAA and BCL titles, something they'll try to match again this year. One down, one to go. The BCL tournament takes place on 2-27, 2-28 and wraps up at Goucher College on 3-1. Spalding looks like a good bet to get invited to Alhambra and that would mean that the March 7th game vs. Montrose Christian is likely on. The game would be a good tune-up for Alhambra and fun for area fans. Gibbons got jumped right from the start tonight- literally. Spalding's very first possession resulted in an alley oop from Jesse Brooks to Rudy Gay. By the end of the first quarter, Spalding was up 16-5 and Gibbons star guard Ken Hasbrouck already had two fouls. As soon as that happened, Glick called Gay over and made sure he was aware of Hasbrouck's two fouls, telling Gay that its time to post him up and get #3. The third came with 2:27 to go in the first half and Hasbrouck's hot shooting was never allowed to become a factor. Gibbons big man Leon Williams picked up his third foul just before the half as well. In Gibbons 75-60 regular season win over Spalding, Hasbrouck and Williams were two of three Gibbons players that had hot hands. They were extinguished before ever getting lit tonight. The two teams split their two regular season match-ups. Just for symmetry's sake, Spalding started the 2nd half the same exact way they started the first half- a Jesse Brooks lob to Rudy Gay for a big slam. On the next Spalding possession, guard Justin Castleberry parted the red sea that should've been the Gibbons defense and scored an easy lay up to push the lead to 37-13. At that point, it was clear that a miracle comeback wasn't going to happen. Spalding improves to 25-6 on the season and 20-0 when holding opponents under 60 points.

SENIOR'S 29-POINTS AND SEVEN DUNKS LEAD SPALDING TO A CONFERENCE TITLE, 64-45 by Gary Adornato MIAA.com In a season filled with scores of heart-stopping finishes, last second heroics and several overtime classics, many expected more of the same last evening when top-ranked Cardinal Gibbons and #3 Archbishop Spalding met at Gilman in the MIAA A Conference Championship Game. Instead, this one was over nearly as quickly as it began, with Spalding, behind the rim rattling play of senior All-American Rudy Gay, rolling to an easy, 64-45, win in front of a capacity crowd of more than 1,600 fans. It took less than 10-seconds for Spalding point guard Jesse Brooks to spot Gay open on the right baseline and he delivered a perfect feed to the 6'-8" sky walker who promptly converted a two-hand flush for the first of his seven dunks. Gibbons responded with a three-point field goal by senior Kenny Hasbrouck, for its only lead of the game, but the Cavaliers closed the quarter with a 14-2 rush, capped by a one-handed slam by Gay, to lead 16-5. The second quarter followed a similar script, as Gay netted 19 of his game-high 29-points before intermission and, with Gibbons struggling through one of its worst shooting nights of the season, the Cavaliers (25-6) were already well on their way to their third A Conference crown. "This is my first championship ever and, especially in my senior year, it was important for me to come out here and win," said Gay, as young fans scurried for his autograph. "I just tried to leave it all out there on the court. Everybody put their heart in the game and it shows." As spectacular as the offensive highlight reel was, Spalding's defense was just as impressive. With Gay anchoring the center of a tightly packed zone, Gibbons was denied access to the interior and challenged on nearly every jumper. The Crusaders managed just five field goals on 32 attempts in the first half and only 16-of-56 for the game (29%). Off the misses, frequent long rebounds set up the Spalding transition game, leading to several easy scores, including most of Gay's dunks. In addition to the 29-points, Gay finished with six blocks, 11 rebounds and three steals. "Rudy is a complete player and where he helps us out the most is on the defensive end of the court, with his shot-blocking and shot-altering ability," said a gleaming Mike Glick, Spalding's head coach. Glick was also impressed with the performance of the rest of his team. "I would say this was our best game of the season, especially defensively. To hold a team like Cardinal Gibbons to 45-points with all of that offensive fire power is a credit to our effort," he said. "I feel great for our seniors. They get to win a championship." Hasbrouck and Leon Williams combined for 26-points to lead the Crusaders (27-6), but, struggling with foul trouble, neither senior star ever got completely on-track. Junior Justin Castleberry backed up Gay with 11-points for Spalding, while Brooks and Lawrence Dixon combined for 14. Both squads will now move on to this weekend's Baltimore Catholic League Tournament, which gets underway Friday at Goucher College. Spalding, which is seeded second, will face Calvert Hall (15-15) in a 7:00 pm quarterfinal game, while fourth-seeded Gibbons will battle fifth-seeded Towson Catholic (17-13) at 8:45 pm. The other first round games have top-seeded Mount St. Joseph (25-4) facing eighth-seeded Loyola (7-23) at 3:30 pm and St. Frances (22-7), the third seed, facing seventh-seeded St. Maria Goretti (16-14) at 5:15 pm.

Senior flies high for 29, savors first prep title after leading early blowout By Pat O'Malley Sun Staff Originally published February 24, 2004 Opponents cannot afford to be cold from the floor and consistently turn the ball over on a night when Archbishop Spald- ing's Rudy Gay is as hot as he was last night at Gilman. Gay did it all in leading the No. 3 Cavaliers to a resounding, 64-45 romp over top-ranked Cardinal Gibbons in the Maryland Interscholastic Athletic Association A Conference championship game. Gay showed the crowd of more than 2,000, the largest ever at Gilman, according to athletic director Tim Holley, why he was named a McDonald's All-American. The smooth, 6-foot-9 senior who is bound for Connecticut had game-high totals of 29 points -- 14 on seven crowd-pleasing dunks -- six blocks, pulled in 10 rebounds and had three steals in a spectacular performance. The Cavaliers (25-6) came out with Gay delivering a two-handed dunk in the opening seconds and by the end of the first period he had seven points and Spalding a 16-5 lead. Meanwhile, Gibbons (27-6) shot 2-for-20 from the field and committed five of its 11 first-half turnovers. By the half, Gay had 19 points, six of his 10 rebounds and four blocks while the Crusaders were 5-for-32 from the field and down 33-12. At the end of the third period, the game was pretty much out of reach, with Spalding up 45-24. "I wanted to come out here and prove that we can win," said Gay while signing autographs and savoring his first high school championship. "Since I've been at Spalding for two years, I've never proved anything because we never won a championship. We proved tonight that we can win." The two teams split in the regular season, with each winning at home, Spalding by 71-70 in overtime and Gibbons by 75-60 on Feb. 1, with Gay scoring 28 points in defeat. In three games against Gibbons this season, Gay has scored 85 points. "Me and Jesse [Brooks] had the eye contact on that first dunk," said Gay, whose final dunk of the night was a whirling effort that gave the Cavaliers a 62-37 lead with just over a minute left in the game. "This game was real important to me because they beat us the last time we played. Everybody on our team had their hearts in this game and it showed," Gay added. "I play every team the same and if they were scared, then I wanted to keep them scared." Gibbons was coming off a 60-51 upset of then-No. 1 Mount St. Joseph (25-4) on Saturday in the semifinals, but never found its rhythm last night. Ken Hasbrouck led the Crusaders with 14 points, followed by Leon Williams, who had 12 points and a game-high 12 rebounds. Usually high-scoring Brett Foelber, who was sick during the day, gutted it out but had only three points. Spalding shot a torrid 26-for-50 (52 percent) from the field to Gibbons' 16-for-56 (29 percent), and Justin Castleberry was behind Gay with 11 points while Brooks and Lawrence Dixon had seven points each. "It was our best game of the year. Holding them to 45 points is unbelievable," said Spalding coach Mike Glick. "We are 17-0 in games this season when we have held the other team under 60 points."

CAVS AND CRUSADERS TO MEET MONDAY FOR A CONFERENCE TITLE Second-ranked Cardinal Gibbons snapped an eight game losing streak, which stretched over five years, to West Baltimore rival Mount St. Joseph and claimed a 60-51 victory over the top-ranked Gaels, in a MIAA A Conference semifinal playoff basketball game, last night in Irvington. The win advances the Crusaders (27-5) into Monday's A Conference title game, to be played at Gilman (8:00 pm), against third-ranked Archbishop Spalding (24-6), which knocked off #4 St. Frances, 62-59, in yesterday's other semifinal, at Spalding. Gibbons, seeded fourth, held a 10-point advantage with less than three minutes to play, but needed a 9-0 run, in the game's final 1:35, after St. Joe sliced its deficit to just one, at 52-51. The rally evoked images of the last meeting between the two teams, when the Gaels erased an 18-point Crusader lead in the final minutes of the fourth quarter before going on to a 93-90 victory in double overtime. Gibbons' senior center Leon Williams, who dominated the defensive glass, had a game-high 17 rebounds and scored four of his team's nine points in the decisive surge. The Crusaders also got a big effort from seldom used point junior point guard Clinton Sellers, who came off the bench to score eight-points, all in the second half, and dish out six assists. Brian Johnson led St. Joe (25-4) with 12-points, while senior Will Thomas had nine-points and 10 rebounds. At Spalding, All-American Rudy Gay scored 21-points and delivered several spectacular dunks to help the second-seeded Cavaliers (24-6) pull off the close decision over the third-seeded Panthers (22-7). Spalding, which trailed by as many as 13 in the first half, took control of the game, at 51-45, with a 12-5 run at the start of the fourth quarter and never relinquished the lead, despite several challenges from the Panthers. Senior Gordon Brown, who scored 18-points, pulled St. Frances within one, 58-57, with a long three-pointer with just 24-seconds remaining. Gay, however, countered with a traditional three-point play to stretch the lead back to four. Sophomore Rashawn Alexander also scored 18 for St. Frances, while Jesse Brooks and Justin Castleberry combined for 22 for Spalding. For Spalding, Monday's game will mark its fifth straight appearance in the A Conference championship game and the Cavaliers will be seeking their third league title. Spalding also owns a MIAA C Conference championship from the 1996-1997 season. Gibbons, on the other hand, is seeking its first MIAA basketball title. The two split their two regular season meetings, with Spalding taking a 71-70 victory in early January and Gibbons rolling to a 75-60 victory on the first of this month.