Walking back to the team huddle during timeouts was visibly painful for Larry Bastfield in the fourth quarter Sunday. But nothing was going to stop the senior from winning back-to-back Maryland InterscholasticAthletic Association championships.
No. 4 Towson Catholic upset No. 1 Mount St. Joseph, 54-44, at Towson Center Sunday evening, in part due to the Toledo-bound guard?s willingness to play through a twisted left ankle – suffered driving to the basket early in the final period.
“The trainer asked me if I wanted it taped up, and I said, ?No, this is the championship,?” Bastfield said. “I knew I couldn?t score, but I did enough for us to win.”
Towson Catholic (21-11) was without two stars from last year?s championship team ? All-Examiner first-team forward Donte Greene, now at Syracuse, and Examiner player of the year Malcolm Delaney, now at Virginia Tech.
In their absence, the Owls persevered behind seniors Brandon Greene, Vinny Breckenridge, Terrell Bruce and Bastfield.
“The kids took it upon themselves,” Owls head coach Josh Pratt said. “People have to step up.”
Towson Catholic, which did not lose to a local program last season, defeated McDonogh, 71-49, in last year?s championship. Mount St. Joseph (28-3) seemed to be on a similar path until Sunday.
St. Joe held a 25-24 advantage after the opening 16 minutes, shrugging off 10 lead changes and a balanced Towson Catholic attack. The Gaels were led by senior center Henry Sims, who scored 12, and sophomore guard Eric Atkins, who scored 10.
The Owls got a game-high 15 points from Breckenridge, 13 from Greene, 12 from junior Devin Spencer and six from Bastfield.
St. Joe, which won the 2003, 2005 and 2006 titles, will be the No. 1 seed in the Baltimore Catholic League tournament, set for March 3-5 at Loyola College.
