R1A Classic-Saturday's Headlines

The R1A Classic has turned into a great annual event held by Route 1 Athletics at Harford Community College. For this year's event, it welcomed teams from a handful of state and one program from Canada. We were in attendance for Saturday's slate of games and will run down the headlines gathered from the action.   Calvert Hall trending in the right direction   The Cardinals have put together a string of victories over the past week that offers plenty of optimism. They kept the ball rolling yesterday earning a big 55-53 win over Good Counsel behind 2024 [player_tooltip player_id='1366890' first='Brendan' last='Johnson']'s 24 points. Johnson, who has put together an impressive junior campaign, is proving to be one of the best shot makers in the Baltimore Metro area. The 2023 duo of [player_tooltip player_id='1413514' first='Jonah' last='Biggers'] and [player_tooltip player_id='1585962' first='Troy' last='Tinch'] finished with 12 points each and pulled in 10 rebounds between the two. Biggers, an undersized forward at 6'4, and Tinch, a 6'3 lefty shooter, have both increased their stock as Division III prospects.   Leading the way for Good Counsel was 2024 [player_tooltip player_id='1413945' first='Justin' last='Bumbray'] with 13 points on 5-of-9 shooting. 2024 [player_tooltip player_id='1225259' first='Jordan' last='Brathwaite'] contributed 11 points and seven boards while 2023 Reico Hellams scored 10 points and dished out six assists. Good Counsel was without the services of 2023 [player_tooltip player_id='957040' first='Corey' last='Chesley'] for this one.   Spire Academy's seniors shine   Spire Academy Institute (OH) earned a commanding win over National Christian by a final score of 72-51. Mount St. Mary's commit Jonathan Ogunfuye scored 24 points, dished out five assists and grabbed four rebounds. James Madison-bound point guard Tyshawn Archie followed with 20 points, seven assists and four steals while unsigned senior guard Christian Burnett turned in 11 points.   National Christian was led by two unsigned seniors in [player_tooltip player_id='1747960' first='Turner' last='Harris'] and [player_tooltip player_id='1217452' first='Kris' last='Mickens']. Harris churned in 13 points, six rebounds and three steals while Mickens pitched in with 10 points and five boards.   [player_tooltip player_id='1153997' first='Jaiden' last='Glover'] proves himself   The Patrick School left Bel Air with a 65-55 victory over Mt. Carmel in the third contest of the slate. 2024 guard [player_tooltip player_id='1153997' first='Jaiden' last='Glover']'s stock has been soaring since the month of December and he showed why yesterday. The 6'4 junior scored 27 points on an efficient 8-of-12 from the field. He created his own shot off the bounce, converted on three's with extended range and sought out contact on drives to earn trips to the free-throw line.   Unsigned senior [player_tooltip player_id='1164829' first='Mitchell' last='Kalu'] was active for the Cougars in the loss. The 6'4 forward scored 23 points and hauled in 10 rebounds in the double-double effort. His frontcourt mate and current unsigned senior [player_tooltip player_id='1482974' first='Omarion' last='Reid'] helped Kalu battle the opposing seven-footers of The Patrick schools with 10 points and 11 rebounds in 25 minutes.   United Scholastics win over TSF   United Scholastics Academy made the trip from Canada and looked strong in their 80-68 win over The Skill Factory. Despite being without arguably their best player in Old Dominion commit Vasean Allette, his twin brother who also committed to the Monarchs, picked up the slack to the tune of 23 points. 2024 guard Kobe Charles mixed up his scoring approach throughout the game, but proved to be most effective when finishing in transition. Charles scored 16 points on 5-of-10 shooting.   2024 southpaw guard EJ Smith led the TSF effort with 23 points of his own. The 6'2 combo guard made his impact felt in multiple ways as indicated by his eight rebound and three steals. He's a quick-twitch guard who plays with wiggle, gets to his spots with minimal bounces and has good body control.   IMG escapes Mt. Zion   IMG seemed to have control of the game going into halftime with a double-digit lead, but Mt. Zion chipped away and put themselves in position to win the game in crunch time on a couple of occasions. Nebraska-bound wing Eli Rice led the winning performance with 16 points and seven rebounds . Unsigned senior Gavin Walsh scored 16 points of his own and while collecting five boards. Nebraska-bound wing Eli Rice Oklahoma State signee Eric Dailey Jr. recorded a double-double of 14 points and 11 rebounds.   2024 guard MJ Smith shined for the Warriors with 21 points on 5-of-9 shooting from three. One of the more crafty, natural scorers you'll find in the area, Smith made defenders pay for late close outs or attacked when they were too aggressive before finishing with either had around the basket. 2024 [player_tooltip player_id='1579092' first='Malachi' last='Palmer'] struggled to find his rhythm in the early going, but got rolling in the second half as he sported a stat line of 15 points, six assists and five rebounds.   Mount St. Joe coasts   What was arguably one of the most anticipated games of the game was quickly controlled by one side. The Gaels of Mount St. Joe would go onto win 64-50 behind UMBC commit [player_tooltip player_id='1049863' first='Ace' last='Valentine']'s 22 points, seven rebounds and three assists. Future Illinois forward and current No. 1 player in the 2023 MD/DC rankings, [player_tooltip player_id='957018' first='Amani' last='Hansberry'], logged a routine double-double of 17 points and 11 boards.   2024 [player_tooltip player_id='2337747' first='Micah' last='Charles'] was the lone bright spot for the Tigers with 15 points on 6-of-8 shooting.   St. Frances overcomes size   It was a tale between two opposites in the matchup of St. Frances and Bella Vista (AZ). St. Frances boasts a slew of scrappy guards that are hard for others the match up with. Maryland commit [player_tooltip player_id='957025' first='Jahnathan' last='Lamothe'] was out for this one, but Pittsburgh commit [player_tooltip player_id='1114066' first='Carlton' last='Carrington'] kept his foot on the gas as he has all season. Continuing to make his strong argument as the No. 1 prospects in the MD/DC rankings right behind Hansberry, the 6'5 guard scored 27 points, which included a perfect 15-of-15 from the charity stripe. 2025 guard [player_tooltip player_id='1370503' first='Tyler' last='Jackson'] had a loud first half and caught the crowd's attention with his array of crossovers, step-backs and other crafty counters to help create space. The 6'2 guard scored 17 points in the win.   Bella Vista brought much more size to the equation and that theme ran through all five positions. 2023 6'6 guard Jason Fontenet led the way with 20 points and showed his versatility as a shooter both off the catch and off the bounce. 2024 Luke Bamgboye returned back to Baltimore and registered a double-double of 12 points and 14 rebounds.

The R1A Classic has turned into a great annual event held by Route 1 Athletics at Harford Community College. For this year's event, it welcomed teams from a handful of state and one program from Canada. We were in attendance for Saturday's slate of games and will run down the headlines gathered from the action.