St. Frances, St. Joe Head To Alhambra

By: Keith Mills

Sean Mosley and Henry Sims will play in next month's Charm City Challenge high school basketball all-star game at Towson University, but both their prep careers will all but end this weekend in Cumberland. Their St. Frances and Mount St. Joe teams will compete in the 48th Alhambra Catholic Invitational Tournament at Frostburg State University.

The tournament opens Thursday at 4 p.m., with Gonzaga of D.C. playing Bishop Walsh, the host school from Cumberland. Mount St. Joe plays Denis J. O'Connell of Arlington, Va., at 5:45 p.m. St. Frances plays Roman Catholic of Philadelphia at 7:30 and Benedictine High of Richmond plays Judge Memorial of Salt Lake City at 9:45 p.m.

The semifinals are Friday night and the finale Saturday at 6:30.

The Alhambra, which dates back to 1961, is one of the most prestigious tournaments in the country. Some of the nation's best talent has played in the event including Austin Carr, Anthony “Jo Jo” Hunter and Johnny Dawkins of Mackin; Adrian Dantley, Kenny Carr, Derrick Whittenberg and Danny Ferry of DeMatha; and Rodney Monroe of St. Maria Goretti.

The tournament has also seen such local players as Pete Budko and Tony Guy of Loyola Blakefield, Steve Wojciechowski and Norman Black of Cardinal Gibbons, Duane Ferrell and Marc Wilson of Calvert Hall, Mark Karcher and Mosley of St. Frances, Rudy Gay of Archbishop Spalding and Will Thomas and Louis Birdsong of Mount St. Joe.

Mount St. Joe and St. Frances could meet in the finals, which would be a rematch of last week's Baltimore Catholic League final, won by Mosley and St. Frances, 66-61. Mosley was superb, scoring 35 points and handing coach Will Wells his sixth BCL championship trophy in his final year as coach.

Mosley is headed next year to Maryland and Sims to Georgetown.

Issue 3.11: March 13, 2008