IAABO, MBOA to highlight top tourney talent

Riverdale Baptist perennially is one of the county’s best squads. Tonight, the Crusaders will open the tournament by facing St. Frances, one of Baltimore City’s best teams. The winner will face the winner of today’s Arundel-Largo game at 8 p.m. tomorrow. On the other side of the brackets, Forest Park will face Blake in the opener with Holy Cross and Charles H. Flowers slated to meet in the next game. Those winners will play one another at 6 p.m. tomorrow.

Defending 3A state champion Largo will face perennial 4A power Arundel tonight in the third game of the opening round. The Lions graduated four key starters from last year’s 26-1 squad that also had beat three-time 4A state champion Eleanor Roosevelt in the county championship game. Largo (4-0) headed into the break with an 86-6 thumping of winless Fairmont Heights last Friday.

Although the team has yet to capture a 4A South Region title, Flowers has emerged as a contender each season under coach Patrice Watson. The Jaguars will open their bid for an IAABO title today against Montgomery County private school Holy Cross, a member of the Washington Catholic Athletic Conference. Flowers (2-1) allowed a 26-22 halftime lead to get away in a 63-61 setback against Henry A. Wise last Friday.

Three other county teams are heading to the 10th annual Holiday Hoops Classic sponsored by the Maryland Basketball Officials Association at the Washington Bible College in Lanham. Among the eight teams slated to compete, county squads Gwynn Park, Elizabeth Seton and Bladensburg began play yesterday. Gwynn Park faced Lackey, while Seton and Bladensburg met one another.

Gwynn Park (4-0) cruised past Crossland, 72-40, last Friday behind 26 points from senior guard Brittany Crowell. Bladensburg (3-1) rallied from a 25-18 halftime deficit to defeat Parkdale, 48-47, while Seton fell to Good Counsel, 56-47.

The tournament resumes today and continues through tomorrow, with the championship game slated for 8 p.m. on Friday. Southern of Anne Arundel, Hyde from Washington, D.C., Middletown and South River are also competing in the tournament. Four games beginning at 2 p.m. will be played today and tomorrow.

Wise is heading to the Owings Mills Christmas Tournament tomorrow, while Northwestern is going to Archbishop Carroll in the District. Forestville is also in the Carroll tournament and will play the Wildcats Saturday. Wise (3-1) headed into the break with a come-from-behind 63-61 win over Flowers last Friday behind 14 points from Shakema Proctor and 11 more from Janay Borum.

Three-time defending 4A state champion Roosevelt will be home for the holidays. The Raiders initially were slated to compete in a tournament in Myrtle Beach, S.C., but could not get permission from the school system to leave two days early. Roosevelt(3-0) which thoroughly throttled High Point 83-12 last Friday, will return to play Jan. 7 against Wise, which now looks like a major player in the league.

E-mail Ted Black at tblack@gazette.net.