Alhambra

Phil Booth hit back-to-back 3-pointers late in the game to get the No. 3 Mount St. Joseph boys basketball team within striking distance of Bishop Denis J. O'Connell (Va.). But the Gaels' final, potentially game- winning 3-point attempt with 3.7 seconds left bounced off the rim and the Gaels fell, 70-68, in the opening round of the Alhambra Catholic Invitational Tournament in Cumberland on Thursday. "I was disappointed in the result, but not disappointed in the effort," Gaels coach Pat Clatchey said.

Phil Booth hit back-to-back 3-pointers late in the game to get the No. 3 Mount St. Joseph boys basketball team within striking distance of Bishop Denis J. O'Connell (Va.). But the Gaels' final, potentially game- winning 3-point attempt with 3.7 seconds left bounced off the rim and the Gaels fell, 70-68, in the opening round of the Alhambra Catholic Invitational Tournament in Cumberland on Thursday. "I was disappointed in the result, but not disappointed in the effort," Gaels coach Pat Clatchey said.

The 53rd Alhambra Catholic Invitational boys basketball tournament, which includes No. 2 St. Frances and No. 3 Mount St. Joseph, is set for March 14-16 at Frostburg State University in Western Maryland. Here's Thursday's opening-round schedule: St. Frances vs. Benedictine (Va.), 4 p.m. Mount St. Joseph vs. Bishop O'Connell (Va.), 5:45 p.m. Bishop Walsh vs. Gonzaga (D.C.), 7:30 p.m. LaLumiere (Ind.) vs DeMatha,  9:15 pm.  

The 53rd Alhambra Catholic Invitational boys basketball tournament, which includes No. 2 St. Frances and No. 3 Mount St. Joseph, is set for March 14-16 at Frostburg State University in Western Maryland. Here's Thursday's opening-round schedule: St. Frances vs. Benedictine (Va.), 4 p.m. Mount St. Joseph vs. Bishop O'Connell (Va.), 5:45 p.m. Bishop Walsh vs. Gonzaga (D.C.), 7:30 p.m. LaLumiere (Ind.) vs DeMatha,  9:15 pm.  

The top-ranked Towson Catholic boys basketball team, champion of the Baltimore Catholic League and Maryland Interscholastic Athletic Association A Conference, has one goal left - to win the 47th Alhambra Catholic Invitational Tournament at Frostburg State. "We want to beat DeMatha in the Alhambra," Owls guard Malcolm Delaney said. "We want another shot at them." For that to happen, both must advance to Saturday night's final. The Stags (27-5) defeated the Owls, 78-71 at American University in late January.

Very little went right for No. 1 John Carroll boys basketball team in the second round of the Alhambra Catholic Invitational Tournament at Frostburg State on Friday. Point guard Malcolm McMillan got in early foul trouble and sat out most of the second quarter, and DeMatha made three times as many free throws as the Maryland Interscholastic Athletic Association and Baltimore Catholic League champion Patriots (33-3) lost, 38-32. The Stags (28-7), the Washington Catholic Athletic Association and Washington city champions, used long offensive possessions and a 2-3 zone to stifle John Carroll's offense, which scored half as many points as compared to the first round.

Archbishop Spalding is headed for Western Maryland and the prestigious Alhambra Tournament at Frostburg State University beginning March 18.After winning the 28th Catholic League tournament Monday, the No. 3 Cavaliers (29-4) accepted an invitation to the Alhambra yesterday along with No. 4 Towson Catholic (25-6).The Owls won the Catholic League regular-season title, but were upset in the tournament semifinals by St. Frances, 47-46. Spalding topped the Panthers, 57-49, in the final to win the tournament in its second year in the league.

The No. 8 St. Frances boys basketball team has been invited to next week's Alhambra Catholic Invitational Tournament for the first time since 1997, and Panthers standout Sean Mosley is cherishing the opportunity. "It's a good feeling for me and the team to have been invited to Alhambra, because my first year, after winning the [Baltimore Catholic League], the rule was that the BCL winner should get an invitation to Alhambra and it didn't go that way," Mosley said. In 2005, when Mosley was a freshman, the Panthers made an unlikely run and won the BCL tournament as a fifth seed.

It took four years for Sean Mosley to lead St. Frances to the Alhambra Catholic Invitational Tournament at Frostburg University's Bobcat Arena. And after leading the No. 3 Panthers (27-9) to victory in the 37th Baltimore Catholic League tournament, 66-61, over No. 4 Mount St. Joseph (30-4) by scoring 35 points, the four-year standout said: "It's the way to go out. I've always wanted to play in the Alhambra, and I hope to make the most of it." St. Frances opens at 7:30 tonight against defending champion Roman Catholic (17-5)

Top-ranked Towson Catholic (31-4) will play St. John's (24-7) of Washington, The Washington Post's fourth-ranked boys basketball team, in the first round of the 47th Alhambra Catholic Invitational Tournament at 5:45 p.m. next Thursday at Frostburg State University. Led by Donte Greene (Syracuse) and Malcom Delaney (Virginia Tech), the Owls are in the bracket opposite of The Post's No. 1 team, DeMatha (26-5), and it's conceivable the teams could meet in the final March 17.

One of my favorite parts of a vacation is learning about a new city or country's literary tradition, and visiting places where it was forged. A highlight of my recent stay in Spain was a trip to Genada's Alhambra, a spectacular Moorish palace that dates to the 13th Century as a royal residence (and has sections that are even older). I had bought a copy of Washington Irving's "Tales of the Alhambra" at a second-hand bookshop in Madrid, and spent several days reading the remarkable stories, including a recollection of boys who baited fishing rods with flies and tried to catch sparrows from the castle towers.

Very little went right for No. 1 John Carroll boys basketball team in the second round of the Alhambra Catholic Invitational Tournament at Frostburg State on Friday. Point guard Malcolm McMillan got in early foul trouble and sat out most of the second quarter, and DeMatha made three times as many free throws as the Maryland Interscholastic Athletic Association and Baltimore Catholic League champion Patriots (33-3) lost, 38-32. The Stags (28-7), the Washington Catholic Athletic Association and Washington city champions, used long offensive possessions and a 2-3 zone to stifle John Carroll's offense, which scored half as many points as compared to the first round.

The 39th edition of the Baltimore Catholic League tournament takes place this weekend at Loyola University's Reitz Arena. The opening round is set for Saturday with games at 5 p.m., 6:45 p.m. and 8:30 p.m. The semifinals are Sunday at 6:45 p.m. and 8:30 p.m., with the championship game scheduled for 7 p.m. Monday. The seedings will be announced after tonight's completion of the regular season. Mount St. Joseph, the regular-season champion, has earned a bye for Saturday's opening round.

FROSTBURG - Up against defending champion Gonzaga in last night's featured game of the 49th annual Alhambra Catholic Invitational Tournament, the No. 2 St. Frances boys basketball team finally met its match in a championship game this season. The Panthers got off to a slow start, and the Eagles from Washington relied on their experience and depth to hand the Panthers a 66-56 loss at Frostburg State. "We didn't come to play the whole game - we showed up in the second half, but it was too late then.

Dante Holmes went off for a career-high 34 points as the St. Frances boys basketball team took a 15-5 lead and never trailed in a 64-58 win over DeMatha in the semifinals of the Alhambra Catholic Invitational at Frostburg State. Holmes used his aggressiveness to get easy baskets inside and earn trips to the foul line. The junior also grabbed nine rebounds for the No. 2 Panthers (33-3), who led by 13 at halftime. Terrell Vinson added 12 points and a team-high 10 rebounds for St. Frances, which held Naji Hibbert to seven points.

The Calvert Hall boys led with a minute to go before Brandon Coleman made a three-point play with 51 seconds left and Bishop McNamara took the lead for good, winning, 47-43, in the opening round of the Alhambra Tournament at Frostburg State last night. Coleman finished with a game-high 15 points and Talib Zanna had 13 for the Mustangs. Donya Jackson led the No. 4 Cardinals (27-7) with 11 points. Calvert Hall faces Cathedral of Canada in today's second-round game at 4 p.m. No. 2 St. Frances, a winner over Bishop O'Connell, will face DeMatha at 9:15 p.m.

A playoff game between the Baltimore Catholic League tournament and regular-season champions won't be needed.No. 3 Archbishop Spalding (29-4) and No. 4 Towson Catholic (25-6) are both going to the prestigious Alhambra tournament at Frostburg State University, March 18-20.Spalding won the tournament title Monday over No. 14 St. Frances (12-10), 57-49. Towson Catholic (13-1 in the league) had won the regular-season championship over Spalding (12-2), but was upset by St. Frances, 47-46, in the tournament semifinals.

One goal is left for Archbishop Spalding's third-ranked boys basketball team as it opens the 40th Alhambra Catholic Invitational Tournament against St. John's of D.C. tonight at Frostburg State. The Cavaliers (23-10) and No. 4 Towson Catholic (28-9) qualified together for the second straight year after finishing 1-2, respectively, in the Baltimore Catholic League regular season and tournament. Towson Catholic faces St. John Neumann of Pennsylvania, a team that lost by two to national power Roman Catholic in the Philadelphia Catholic League final.

With the Maryland Public Secondary Schools Athletic Association's state wrestling tournament coming up Friday and Saturday at College Park, teams and individuals are fine-tuning their skills. But unlike other high school sports such as football and basketball, players from different teams can be found practicing with their strongest competition. In Howard County, River Hill, one of three teams in the state sending 11 wrestlers to the state tournament (Owings Mills and La Plata are the other two)

St. Frances advanced to the championship semifinals of the 48th Alhambra Catholic Invitational tournament with an 95-86 overtime victory over defending champion Roman Catholic (17-6) last night at Frostburg University's Bobcat Arena. The No. 3 Panthers (28-9) will play The Washington Post's No. 1 Gonzaga (32-1), a 64-37 winner over host Bishop Walsh (11-17), at 7.30 tonight. After losing, 60-58, to Virginia's Bishop O'Connell, Mount St. Joseph plays in the consolation semifinals at 5:45 tonight against Judge Memorial (Utah)