Boys basketball: By BILL WAGNER, Staff Writer TOWSON - Archbishop Spalding and Mount St. Joseph have engaged in some great basketball games the last two years. Last night's Catholic League championship was not one of them. Played at a snail's pace and marked by more missed shots than great plays, it was the lowest-scoring final in the 31-year history of the Catholic League Tournament. Senior center Will Thomas totalled 12 points, 13 rebounds and four blocked shots as Mount St. Joseph captured its second straight tournament title with a 36-33 victory over Spalding before a packed house at Goucher College. It was a close contest throughout and came down to the final seconds with Spalding's Rudy Gay and Marquis Sullivan missing back-to-back 3-pointers that could have tied the score and forced overtime. It was Spalding's sixth straight loss to Mount St. Joseph dating back to December, 2002. The Cavaliers lost to the Gaels three times by a total of six points this season. "It's the way we've lost to St. Joe that's most frustrating. It's not like we've been beaten convincingly," Glick said. "All three games were down to the wire and we just didn't hit the key shots." Spalding didn't hit many shots last night, going 14-for-45 from the field. Gay score 10 points - half his season average - to lead the Cavaliers, who were 1-for-15 from beyond the arc. "It's hard to believe we held them to 36 points and lost, but the difference was that we shot the ball as poorly as we have all season," Glick said. "Going 1-for-15 from the 3-point line isn't going to get it done. Scoring 33 points isn't going to get it done." Spalding seized an 11-5 lead late in the first quarter and stayed on top most of the way. The Cavaliers were ahead 23-20 at halftime and 28-27 after three quarters. Junior guard Greg Woody hit a driving layup to tie the game at 30 with 4:52 remaining in the fourth and followed 38 seconds later with a 3-pointer that put St. Joe ahead to stay. Spalding went stone cold in the second half, scoring just 10 points on 3 of 26 field goal shooting. The Cavaliers managed just three free throws in the final 5:28, coming up empty on seven possessions. "It was a real defensive battle. We've hung our hat on defense all season and did so again tonight," Mount St. Joseph coach Pat Clatchey said. "I never thought these two teams would play a 36-33 game, but the bottom line is that you're supposed to finish with more points than the other team and we did." Jesse Brooks scored nine points and dished off four assists for Spalding (27-7), which has played in five of the last six Catholic League tournament finals and won the MIAA A Conference title last week against a field that included many of the same teams. Thomas was named tournament Most Valuable Player for the second straight year. Gay and Sullivan were both named All-Tournament. "We had them at the beginning, but then we started making bad plays," said Gay, the Connecticut-bound forward. "We usually don't come out flat like that, but sometimes we had these days. It's real tough to lose to them again." Spalding received some good news despite the loss. Catholic League commissioner Jack Degele announced afterward that the Cavaliers had been invited to the prestigious Alhambra Invitational, being held March 18-20 at Frostburg State University. Mount St. Joseph, by virtue of winning the Catholic League regular season title, had already earned a bid to the Alhambra. "You would hate for your season to end on a note like this. It's going to be a pleasure to coach the kids for three more games," Glick said. "Losing this game does not detract from the season we've had. It's a tough pill to swallow, but we have to move on and try to make a strong showing at the Alhambra." Spalding (27-7) 15 8 5 5 _ 33 St. Joe (28-4) 11 9 7 9 _ 36 Spalding (33) Brooks 4(1) 0-0 9, Castleberry 2 1-2 5, Dixon 1 1-1 3, Gay 4 2-2 10, Jones 1 0-0 2, Sullivan 2 0-0 4, Cornell 0 0-0 0, Galinat 0 0-0 0, Loughry 0 0-0 0. TOTALS: 14(1) 4-5 33. St. Joe (36) Woody 3(1) 0-0 7, C. Thomas 3 0-0 6, Mack 1 2-2 4, Johnson 1(1) 4-6 7, W. Thomas 5 2-4 12, Gregory 0 0-0 0. TOTALS: 13(2) 8-12 36