by Derek Toney
Troy Franklin gave Towson University a reason to smile and left John Carroll High frowning Wednesday night. In the first “upset” of the boys’ basketball season, Mount Carmel posted a 72-61 victory over John Carroll in a MIAA non-conference contest in Bel Air.
Playing in front of his future college coach, Towson’s Pat Kennedy and assistant Jim Meil, Franklin had 23 points, five assists and eight steals in the Cougars’ season debut. Senior backcourt mate Dwayne Wheeler contributed 19 points and six assists.
“We came out ready to play,” said Franklin, a 6 foot senior point guard. “We jumped out on them in the first half and had a good lead.”
The Cougars, who’ve been in the last two B Conference title games, led by as many as 18 points in the second half against the Patriots (1-1). Though Mount Carmel split with John Carroll last season in B play, the Patriots are now in the A Conference, giving the Cougars a little added motivation.
“We got a little history with them, they’re very competitive and a very good program,” said Mount Carmel coach Tom Rose. “If you asked them, they’re probably not going to look at it as an upset, but for our program, this is a very big win for us.”
“The coaches said just play hard, play to win and don’t worry about the rankings,” said Wheeler. “Just block the crowd out and play hard, and that’s what we did.”
The Cougars’ quickness along with solid inside play from Rummell King (11 rebounds) and Marc Anthony Franks kept John Carroll and its home audience muted most of the evening, building a 31-22 halftime advantage. Franklin started a 9-0 run that increased Mount Carmel’s advantage to 44-26 late in the third quarter, with an assist on a layup by Franks (10 rebounds and six blocked shots). Franklin had five points during the surge.
The Patriots, ranked No. 21 in ESPN’s Elite Top 25 national poll, pulled to within seven in the fourth quarter after a three-poiner by Erick Smith. Wheeler, who injured his shoulder in practice Tuesday, had a layup and two free throws from Wheeler, and a Franklin four-point play helped push the Cougars’ advantage back to double digits. John Carroll got within five with over a minute remaining in regulation, but it didn’t rattle Mount Carmel and its five senior starters.
“I knew they had another run in them, we just had to stay together,” said Rose. “I told them to focus on what we need to accomplish, let’s pick them up full court, take away any three point opportunities, and let’s finished the game. We got to get better, we’re not perfect yet.”
“Troy and Dwayne are as quick as any guards we’re going to face in the A, but at the end of the day, we knew we had more depth,” said John Carroll coach Tony Martin, whose team opened Monday with a 115-50 victory over Glenelg Country School. “The issue was we didn’t play with any semblance of structure and the game turned into a track meet. We’re still a young group, they start five seniors, we start four juniors and it’s going to take us some time.”
Junior forward Isaiah Philmore had 20 points to lead the Patriots, and Smith finished with 17. John Carroll will play its first A Conference match against Martin’s former team Archbishop Spalding Monday. Saturday, the Patriots meet defending B Conference champ St. Mary’s in the opening game of the Charm City Classic at Loyola College’s Reitz Arena.
St. Mary’s ended Mount Carmel’s title reign in the finals last season. If Wednesday is any indication, the Cougars will be tough for any opponent this season.
“We’ve really come a long way,” said Franklin, whose team next MIAA contest will . “We just came out and play hard. We played together as a team.”
Mount Carmel 72, John Carroll 61
Mount Carmel-Wheeler 19, Small 4, Macey 2, McNair 10, King 5, Franklin 23, Franks 9. Totals: 27 15-18 72.
John Carroll -Philmore 20, Jordan 3, Maczko 2, E. Smith 9, McQuaid 3, Gaspic 1, W. Smith 17, Wiegand 6. Totals: 24 13-20 61.
Mount Carmel 13 18 13 28-72
John Carroll 10 12 14 25-61
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