Spalding clips John Carroll in BCL Showdown
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The Cavaliers hosted a tough Patriots’ squad that came in a game behind them in the BCL standings and led most of the way through the first 10-12 minutes of game play behind the dynamic play-making of Malik Washington Malik…
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Continue ReadingThe Cavaliers hosted a tough Patriots’ squad that came in a game behind them in the BCL standings and led most of the way through the first 10-12 minutes of game play behind the dynamic play-making of Malik Washington Malik Washington 6'5" | SF Archbishop Spalding | 2025 MD and the outside shooting from senior G Michael Lonergan Michael Lonergan 6'2" | SG Archbishop Spalding | 2024 State MD . The Patriots came roaring back in the 2Q behind some hot shooting from sophomore G Aidan Able Aidan Able 6'3" | SG John Carroll | 2026 State MD and the versatile abilities of junior wing Theartis Battle Theartis Battle 6'4" | SG John Carroll | 2025 State MD to take the lead at half 36-29. The Patriots stretched their lead to as many as 9 in the 3Q before a Spalding run sparked by the defense of Jaylin Sykes Jaylin Sykes 5'10" | PG Archbishop Spalding | 2024 State MD and the halfcourt scoring of Elijah Barrett Elijah Barrett 6'2" | CG Archbishop Spalding | 2026 State MD brought the Cavaliers back to within one at the end of the period. Barrett hit a running layup before finding an open Mike Lonergan in the corner for 3 to give Spalding it’s first lead since a few minutes into the 1Q. Several steals from sophomore PG Kameron Carter and a balanced offensive attack from the Cavaliers closed out the game with a 74-71 home victory.
Spalding Cavaliers 74
M. Washington 16p 9r 7a 5s 1b
M. Lonergan 16p 2s 1r 1a
K. Carter 12p 4a 4s 1r
J. Sykes 11p 3s 1a
E. Barrett 11p 4r 2a
RJ Newton RJ Newton 6'4" | SF Archbishop Spalding | 2024 MD 4p 4r
John Carroll Patriots 71
A. Able 21p 4r 2a 2s
T. Battle 14p 8r 2b 1a
C. Chinnia 15p 4a 3r 1s
J. Westervelt 7p 7r 1a
The Cavaliers begin and end with Malik Washington Malik Washington 6’5″ | SF Archbishop Spalding | 2025 MD , the dual sport captain is their best rebounder, scorer, and finisher around the basket. The junior wing finished with 16p 9r 7a 5s 1b while shooting 50% from the field. His ability to anticipate passes and jump the lane before the ball has crossed halfcourt sparked Spalding’s run in the 4Q. The ability for your best rebounder to go from rim to rim, weaving around defenders before scoring at the rim is such a valuable asset for a Spalding team that sometimes struggles to score in the half court. His intangibles as a leader and motivator on the court and from the bench remain invaluable to this young squad.
The son of a former collegiate coach, Lonergan always seems to find himself in the right spot defensively to take a charge or collect a steal defensively while his movement off-ball creates much more open looks for himself on the offensive end of the floor. A knock-down catch and shoot threat, Lonergan’s ability to open up driving lanes for teammates with his shooting was key to their comeback. The dual-sport senior finished with 16p 2s 1r 1a off of 50% shooting.
Highlights
“Big Honey” was a dynamic inside-out force in this contest, bullying smaller defenders on the way to the basket while also showing some perimeter scoring wiggle to the tune of 21p 4r 2a 2s while shooting 8/15 from the floor. He has improved his body but uses his upper body strength to guard up a position while his footwork allows him to also shadow 2s effectively. His handle has improved and is good enough to take advantage of how well he sees the floor, finding teammates from the perimeter for easy buckets.
The junior swingman showed his ability to fill the stat sheet and impact the game in a multitude of ways, 14p 8r 2b 1a. Battle understands where the ball is coming off the rim and gives his team invaluable extra looks (4 offensive rebounds) at the basket in the halfcourt. He moves really well for his size while taking advantage of his athleticism and length to guard 1-4 at a pretty high level. His ability to step out and shoot perimeter shots if you give him enough space opens up gaps in the defense that he is able to take advantage of with long strides to the rim. Really intriguing wing prospect, will be interesting to see if his skillset expands to be more perimeter-oriented or more around the rim if he gets another growth spurt.
Carter overcame a slow first half (2p 1a) to provide a defensive spark (4 steals) that got the Cavaliers going in transition to help them come back in this game. His burst has improved to the point where he can use a tight handle to split ball screens or attack his opponent’s outside shoulder and get to the paint (two made floaters in the 4Q). His feel and ability to make split second decisions when reacting to the defense creates easy opportunities for himself and his teammates in the halfcourt. Once his perimeter shots begin to fall off the bounce and he is able to add more muscle to his frame- I expect more buzz to pick up around this talented 2026 pure PG. Carter finished with 12p 4a 4s 1r in the win.
What are college coaches looking for? HS basketball players that have good feel but can also fill it up offensively, guys that can create their own offense are hard to find and Chinnia fits that bill. The 6’3 CG can get into his pull-up off of either hand in the midrange and did so efficiently, going on a personal 8-0 that gave Carroll a much-needed lead in the 2Q. Although he can get his own shot off the dribble inside and outside of the arc, he used that scoring gravity to get two feet into the paint and find his shooters on the opposite wing for assists. His ability to decelerate in transition allows him to get into his jumper quickly and makes it difficult to stay with him as a defender. Definitely a name for college coaches to track in 2025.
15p 4a 3r 1s
Sykes showed his ability to anticipate passes and drives to the line by coming up with 3 steals in this one to atone for an early turnover that led to a JC bucket. The physical point guard gets to his spots and did a great job of creating easy looks for his teammates, although all but one missed the shot in this game. He also scored on acrobatic extension layups at the rim to spark a run for Spalding in the 1Q and finished through the contact to finish another in the 2Q. His energy and defensive intensity are infectious and his teammates feed off that whenever they go on runs ignited by fullcourt pressure. The available 2024 PG finished with 11p 2r 3s 1a.