Mount St. Joe vs St. Frances Takeaways

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Mount St. Joe and St. Frances has become the biggest rivalry you'll find in Baltimore high school hoops. It seems like no matter what the team's records are, where they play or any other circumstance you can think of, the game is going to come down to the wire. It was that way once again last night with the Gaels escaping with a 62-59 win. For this article, I'll break down some takeaways from the contest.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Abrams' third quarter</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Stonehill commit [player_tooltip player_id='957059' first='Austin' last='Abrams'] celebrated his birthday and a big third quarter to help his team to a win. The guard scored eight of his 15 points in the frame and helped carry the load offensively as St. Frances kept fighting to gain control. Known for his outside shooting, Abrams did a nice job of getting to his spots in the mid range with good pace and balance before elevating for a jumper. He also put together a couple of nice drives where he finished floaters or layups with his left hand.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Carrington's big second half</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Pittsburgh commit [player_tooltip player_id='1114066' first='Carlton' last='Carrington'] refused to go down without a fight and in the second half he'd find a groove while scoring 16 of his game-high 18 points in the final two quarters. The 6'4 guard knocked down a plethora of pull-up jumpers with his defender draped all over him. He also used good change-of-pace dribbles to gain and edge and utilize his length on his finishes around the rim.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1049863' first='Ace' last='Valentine'] = steady</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Valentine has been one of the more consistent prospects on this Mount St. Joe team. Coming into the season, people questioned whether or not he could handle stepping into the primary ball-handling role in high intensity games like last night. He has answered the critics time and time again by making game-winning plays in crunch time, making sound decisions against pressure and seems to have improved his mental toughness since his junior year. He didn't only produce on the offensive end with 15 points, but you could tell he brought his hardhat for the defensive end and was determined to shine in his individual matchup. UMBC is getting a good one.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:image {"align":"right","id":1734382,"sizeSlug":"medium","linkDestination":"media"} --> <figure class="wp-block-image alignright size-medium"><a href="https://prephoops.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/01/IMG-1581.jpg"><img src="https://prephoops.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/01/IMG-1581.jpg?w=300" alt="" class="wp-image-1734382" /></a></figure> <!-- /wp:image --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1370503' first='Tyler' last='Jackson']'s spurts</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>There hasn't been a prospect in the DMV and Baltimore area that has caught more national attention than 2025 [player_tooltip player_id='1370503' first='Tyler' last='Jackson'] has since mid-December. Whether it was his emphatic performances at The City of Palms or his explosive scoring performances at the Jordan Holiday Classic, his name has been swirling in plenty of circles. He'd finish this contest with 11 points, but still managed to showcase his scoring prowess from three and in the mid-range breaking defenders down off the bounce.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>I'm buying more [player_tooltip player_id='1280947' first='Tyonne' last='Farrell'] stock</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>I was already a fan of [player_tooltip player_id='1280947' first='Tyonne' last='Farrell'] before this game because of his blue collar approach. While I knew he was more skilled than most folks thought, he didn't hesitate to show off his confidence his three-point shot. The 6'6 forward buried two triples to start the game and infuse energy into his team early. He made multiple reads as a passer throughout the contest that caught eyes and in crunch time, stepped up to the free-throw line and converted. College coaches should be monitoring Farrell as time progresses.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Gage Howard does his job</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Howard is a talented freshman big who took on the tall task of guarding Illinois commit [player_tooltip player_id='957018' first='Amani' last='Hansberry'] last night. While it's extremely difficult to shut out Hansberry, Howard battled and did whatever he could to try and contain him. Holding Hansberry to 10 points on the night was a huge win and should be a boost of confidence for Howard. He used his body well as Hansberry tried to bury him under the rim, stayed disciplined on not jumping for shot fakes and stayed vertical to avoid fouling. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->