Boys Basketball

Seven local boys basketball teams have earned top seeds in their respective regions for the MPSSAA postseason tournaments, which begin Friday. No. 1 Milford Mill, No. 4 Lake Clifton, No. 7 Dunbar, No. 9 Arundel,  No. 14 South Carroll, No. 15 Centennial and Western Tech are each top seeds and will receive byes in their brackets, which were released Sunday. One of the most notable developments is Patterson getting a No. 15 seed in Class 3A North. The Clippers, 15-6 and ranked No. 3 in The Sun's latest poll, did not earn one of the top four seeds in the region, which are determined by overall record.

A promising boys basketball season is upon us, so let's take a closer look at some of the finest teams in the area and what we can expect from each. Our detailed daily roll of the area's top five teams concludes today with No. 1. Here is a look at our No. 5 team, the Edmondson Red Storm . Here is a look at our No. 4 team, the John Carroll Patriots . Here is a look at our No. 3 team, the St. Frances Panthers . Here is a look at our No. 2 team, the Dunbar Poets . 1. Mount St. Joseph Coach: Pat Clatchey Last season: 28-8, ranked No. 3 Postseason:  BCL champion; MIAA A finalist Outlook:  With plenty of talented boys basketball teams in the area, arguments could be made for some others to stake claim to the top spot at the start of the season.  But no team has a more settled situation than Mount St. Joseph, which captured the Baltimore Catholic League title and reached the Maryland Interscholastic Athletic Association A Conference title game last season, and brings most of their players back.   It starts in the backcourt with the All-Metro tandem of Kameron Williams (also the BCL Player of the Year)

The Aberdeen boys basketball team forfeited 11 wins after learning it had been playing with an ineligible player this season. Harford County supervisor of athletics Ken Zorbach said the school did its own investigation and reported the findings to his office on Monday, along with notifying the other schools who were involved in the games and the Class 3A East regional chairperson in the Maryland Public Secondary Schools Athletic Association....

Boys basketball No. School Record Prev. 1. Dunbar 26-2 1 2. St. Frances 33-6 2 3. Milford Mill 26-2 4 4. Mount St. Joseph 31-8 3 5. Edmondson 22-5 5 6. Arch. Spalding 22-12 6 7. John Carroll 26-12 7 8. City 20-6 8 9. New Town 23-4 9 10. Poly 20-7 10 11. Randallstown 19-6 11 12. Oakland Mills 24-1 12 13. Arundel 22-4 13 14. St. Vincent Pallotti 26-6 14 15. Reservoir 19-7 15 Other teams considered: Annapolis (18-8)

Longtime boys basketball coach Mike Daniel, who enjoyed success at Towson Catholic and City, has confirmed that he will coach at New Town this coming school year. Daniel will take over for coach Mike Salapata, who led the Titans to the Class 1A state title game and a 21-6 mark last season. Daniel, who coached at Severn last year, said the paperwork to become New Town's new coach was finalized a couple weeks ago and he's looking forward to his latest coaching challenge. "It's a great opportunity.

Two of the deepest and most talented boys basketball teams in the area get together tonight  night when No. 6 John Carroll hosts to No. 3 St. Frances. It's a rematch of last year's Maryland Interscholastic Athletic Association A Conference and Baltimore Catholic League championship games, both won by John Carroll. Both teams have undergone extensive makeovers since last year -- when John Carroll won all four meetings -- so this game should provide some early answers to what's in store for the rest of the season.

Princeton Day Academy at No. 3 St. Frances When: Monday, 7 p.m. Coaches: Van Whitfield, Princeton Day; Nick Myles, St. Frances KEY PLAYERS TO WATCH Princeton Day: Aquille Carr, senior, guard; Anton Waters, senior, forward St. Frances: Tevon Saddler, senior, guard; Maurice White, senior, guard; Dwayne Morgan, junior, forward; Kurk Lee Jr., sophomore, guard KEYS TO VICTORY All eyes will be on...

Deep and versatile, the Poly boys basketball team can win games a number of different ways. Many of them were on display in the first quarter of Tuesday's game at Ben Franklin-Masonville. The No. 13 Engineers started hot from the outside. Later, they looked inside for points while playing solid defense to jump out to a double-digit lead in the first quarter. The rest of the game, every time the Bayhawks made a run, the Engineers answered and came away with a70-63 win. Most of the later answers came from senior center Darrell Shaw, who scored 15 of his team-high 17 points in the second half.

The North Harford Hawks entered Friday's home-court battle with Fallston having lost their previous three regular season games, but managed to correct the skid by topping the visiting Cougars, 85-74. Joppatowne and Patterson Mill also won Friday night in boys basketball. Heading into the halftime break in Pylesville, North Harford held a 37-30 advantage. North Harford hit all but five of its free throws, going 24-for-29 from the charity stripe. Leading the way for the winning side was Rodney Barnett, who put up 31 points, and was 7-for-9 from the field.

Basketball is on the rebound, nationally and in Anne Arundel County. More college and professional games are on television almost every night, and more kids are taking an interest in it and wanting to find their way onto a court. That's one of the main reasons boys basketball continues to grow in popularity in the Anne Arundel County Recreation and Parks leagues. There are five age groups, and there's no question how much local kids like to play the game. "I think [it's about] physical fitness and the college games that are on just about every night someplace on TV," said Ron Mox, a county recreation and sports supervisor.