Lake Clifton

There was a significant stretch during Tuesday's game against visiting Lake Clifton when everything at both ends went just about right for City. It began in the closing minutes of the first quarter, continued into the second and leaked into the third. The Knights stole passes, blocked shots and dominated the boards on defense. And then they shared the ball, charged to the basket and drained shots from the outside on offense. By the time that run was over midway through the third quarter, No. 7 City had turned a tie game into an 18-point advantage, more than enough to survive a late rally and come away with a 54-38 win over No. 13 Lake Clifton in Baltimore City Division I play.

No. 12 City learned the hard way in the first half that the key to beating host Southern in girls basketball was stopping Jordyn Brown. The Knights double-teamed Brown in the second half and got some much-needed separation and won, 52-30, Wednesday night. Brown scored 19 of her game-high 21points in the first half for the Bulldogs, who trailed by four points at the half. City, led by Koraan Sydnor with 16 points, extended its single-digit halftime lead to 22points in the second half.

The No. 11 Lake Clifton boys basketball team found itself in unfamiliar territory, trailing for most of the game Friday. But a switch in defense and free throws down the stretch changed the Lakers' fortune in a 56-52 win over Centennial at the IAABO Tournament. The Eagles, coming off a 50-45 win Thursday over Digital Harbor, attacked the rim and led 22-19 at the break. Lake Clifton coach Herman "Tree" Harried switched the defense to a half-court trap and jumped the ball to stop Centennial from driving into the lane.

The Lake Clifton boys basketball team is mostly quick and small, and the Lakers are well-aware there will be games when they have to scrap for everything to get a win. Against bigger and stronger Randallstown at the International Association of Approved Basketball Officials Board 290 Memorial Mixer at Northwestern on Thursday, the Lakers faced one of those games. Lake Clifton found a way to beat the No.12 Rams' press just enough times, hit just enough shots, grab just enough rebounds and tirelessly defend to earn a 60-53 win. Senior guard Daquan Ross had a game-high 18 points and junior forward Tavon Coleman added 12 for the Lakers.

The Lake Clifton boys basketball team had one of those special quarters when almost everything went right on Friday. It came against visiting Forest Park in the second quarter when the No. 11 Lakers were making the extra pass, converting the easy shots, causing turnovers and controlling the boards. They used a 15-0 run that covered most of the 8 minutes to comfortably separate themselves from the No. 14 Foresters, and the Lakers stayed on course in the second half to come away with a 58-35 win. Lake Clifton, which got a game-high 14 points from senior forward Cortell Henson, improved to 4-1 overall with the win. Forest Park (7-1)

Lindsey Edwards scored a game-high 18 points as No. 12 Roland Park upset No.5 Seton Keough, 71-54, in an Interscholastic Athletic Association of Maryland A Conference girls basketball game Friday. Jaia Alexander added 14 points for the visiting Reds (2-4), and Hollie Booker and Aliyah Wilson each scored 17 points for the Gators (3-3). Roland Park led 34-25 at the half. N o. 3 Archbishop Spalding 48, Mercy 28: Jade Scaife and Torri Chestnut each scored 11 points to power the host Cavaliers (6-0)

Dec. 10, 2000: A 24-3 defeat of the San Diego Chargers earns the Ravens their first NFL postseason berth. Trent Dilfer passes for two touchdowns for host Baltimore (10-4), which wins its fifth straight game and will win six more. "The playoffs are great," safety Kim Herring says, "but we want it all. " Dec. 13, 1980: A dismal shooting night dooms fourth-ranked Maryland, which falls at defending NCAA men's basketball champion Louisville, 78-67 before a national television audience.

1 Starter returning from the three Baltimore City teams -- Dunbar, Lake Clifton and Patterson -- who won state titles last year. Lake Clifton guard Daquan Ross is the only player back who started in the championship game for any of the three teams. 4 Area teams to win 30 or more games in back-to-back seasons. John Carroll was the latest to accomplish the feat last season when they won 30 games after winning 33 in 2010-11. Dunbar (1982-83, 1983-84), St. Frances (1995-96, 1996-97)

The Baltimore Sun's Top 15 No. 3 River Hill 55, Howard 20 No. 4 Arundel 35, Southern 6 No. 5 Westminster 42, South Carroll 7 No. 15 South River 36, No. 6 Old Mill 35 No. 7 Franklin 34, Woodlawn 12 No. 8 Dunbar 12, Patterson 0 No. 9 St. Paul's 46, Boys' Latin 16 No. 11 Atholton 28, Glenelg 14 Meade 14, No. 12 Broadneck 0 No. 13 Edmondson 36, Digital Harbor 8 Other scores from...

Cleveland Melvin probably snuck up on more than a few teams during a 2010-11 season in which he was named Big East Rookie of the Year. But there was no element of surprise last season, when the Lake Clifton grad put up 17.5 points and 7.4 rebounds per game for the Blue Demons. “Coming into the season, [DePaul coach Oliver ] Purnell told me everyone is going to know who I am now,” Melvin said. “Obviously, that's what happened. Teams started putting more pressure on me and being more physical.