Catholic League teams play for pride

As of press time, there were four boys’ basketball teams still alive for the grand prize — the Catholic League championship.
One of those teams was not Archbishop Carroll, much to the chagrin of its players and coaching staff.
As the season wound down to its final days, Carroll had nothing to play for except pride. A playoff spot was highly unlikely for a team that almost always seems to reach the post-season. However, for the top four teams in what turned out to be an extremely rugged Southern Division, every game was monumental, thus giving the Patriots an opportunity to play the rare role of spoiler.
“We lost a few games to teams we should have beat, and some of them we didn’t win even though we came close,” said Carroll senior Matt Chambers. “There was no excuse. We put ourselves in that position. It was a shame because I think we were good enough to make the playoffs, but we were too far out of it.”
Chambers and fellow co-captain Mike Springman acquired headbands for the entire team to remind everyone that the season wasn’t over, no matter what the standings said. Five games remained, three of which were against playoff teams.
Carroll’s final record over those five games was an impressive 4-1. It was good enough to etch a fifth-place finish, but it left several Patriots lamenting what could have been.
“Even though it was great to do well down the stretch, in some ways it made it worse because we know we could beat those teams,” said Chambers. “I’m proud of the effort we gave, but still, it hurt not making the playoffs.”
Carroll’s turnaround began two weeks ago. In front of a jam-packed home crowd, the Patriots faced defending Catholic League champion St. Joseph’s Prep. The Hawks came in with a perfect 9-0 record and a post-season ticket was already a done deal. Meanwhile, the Patriots were 2-7, making it almost mathematically impossible to participate in the playoffs.
Instead of simply going through the motions and acquiescing to those who said they had no chance, the Pats played their best game of the year and shocked the Hawks, 47-44.
While it might not have been earth-shattering for the Prep, it was positively riveting for the victorious Patriots. The win ignited a boisterous post-game celebration, and after the Patriots emerged from their locker room in street clothes, another impromptu party broke out.
“That was a big game for us,” said Springman, a second-team All-Catholic forward. “I wasn’t that surprised because we lost a lot of really close games this year. I don’t think our record was accurate about how good our team was.”
Making matters sweeter for Springman was that he celebrated reaching the career 1,000-point plateau on a lay-up in the second quarter. He finished with 15 points. Springman was one of several players to come up huge for the winners. Mike Welsh nailed a short hook shot with less than one minute left to put the Pats ahead, 45-41, and after the Prep had closed to within one point, Chambers drilled two free throws with 18 seconds left.
The Prep had two late three-point attempts misfire, and that was that.
Fast forward to this past Friday. Taking on West Catholic, the Pats were facing a team that was trying desperately to finish in third place instead of fourth. However, the Burrs faced a Carroll team that was more confident than at any other point of the season.
Behind a steady team effort that included 15 points from both Anthony Watson and Darrell Floyd, 12 from Mike Welsh and 10 from Mike Keogh, the Patriots defeated the Burrs, 67-58, in overtime. That gave Carroll two wins against playoff teams, and it provided for a wistful next few days.
“I would so love it if we had a few more games left to make the playoffs,” said Chambers. “I think we’d be a dangerous team to play.”
The chief reason the Pats’ record was submerged so deep inside the standings is that the Prep, Roman Catholic, St. John Neumann, and West Catholic were also in the same division. Each of those four teams had a legitimate chance to win the Catholic League championship, so playing each of them twice makes for eight supremely tough contests during the regular season.
That’s fine with Springman.
“Every game is tough,” he said. “It never lets up. Even in the other (league) games against (Cardinal O’Hara, Monsignor Bonner, Kennedy-Kenrick), there are rivalries involved.
“But that’s what makes it so much fun. That’s what makes the Catholic League such a great league. Anyone can beat anyone, especially in the playoffs.”
Provided, of course, you get there.

Contact John Knebles by e-mail: jknebels@aol.com