GREENBELT - The third annual Maryland Private School State Basketball Tournament came to a close on Friday at Eleanor Roosevelt High School, with a pair of champions crowned.
Here’s a look at Friday’s action:
BOYS: #3 BULLIS 52, #4 CLINTON GRACE CHRISTIAN 37
A year after falling short in the title game against DeMatha, the Bullogs finished the deal, pulling away in the second half to down Clinton Grace.
“It means so much because we’ve been though so much as a team,” Marquette-bound 2025 guard Adrien Stevens said. “We have seven seniors and the guys who were in that locker room last year know what it’s like to lose a championship game. We remembered that feeling, and we came for vengeance today.”
Connecticut-bound 2025 center Eric Reibe turned in a dominant performance for the Bulldogs, finishing with 23 points, 12 rebounds, 3 blocks and 2 assists. The McDonald’s All-American didn’t start the game as continues to recover from an injury, but finished 9-of-14 from the field, including 4-of-6 from 3-point range.
“The story of the game is Eric Reibe,” Bullis coach Bruce Kelley said. “None of us coaches saw that coming - we knew he was capable, but with that foot he’s been out and that’s the most he’s played. It was kind of a Disney thing for him, because he has not had the season that he wanted due to injury. We were having a hard time figuring out how to play with him, too. We were posting him up a lot and the middle was crowded and we just weren’t good at putting the ball in there. We sort of played a style when he wasn’t around, and then when he came back we stayed with that style and he just fit into it. Then he started figuring out some ways that he would get the ball out of that style - you saw a couple of those backdoor cuts where he got dunks and he took it and ripped through and made drives. It’s a shame that it took us this long to figure it out, but what a great time to figure it out.”
Howard-bound Jeremiah Johnson had 10 points for Bullis, while freshman standout Xavier Skipworth added 8.
The game was tight early, with the teams tied at 5-5 after one quarter. Bullis began to take control in the second behind the Reibe, building a 22-15 advantage at the half. They led 35-25 after three quarters and kept the Eagles at bay the rest of the way, with the 7-foot Reibe proving to be a matchup nightmare.
“With my length, I could just shoot over anybody,” Reibe said, “so that was definitely a point of advantage. And also, on our team everybody can play every position, so we can get a lot of ball movement.”
J’Lon Lyons led Clinton Grace with 11 points, while Zoje Owinje and Bryce Adams had 7 apiece. Khalib Norcome finished with 6 points and 9 rebounds.
“It means everything to us,” Reibe said of the victory. “That’s been our number one goal, I would say, throughout the whole season, so to finally accomplish it for the first time in Bullis history - we’re part of history now.”
#1 BISHOP MCNAMARA 88, #2 ST. FRANCES 31
The Mustangs repeated as MDPSSBT Champs with a thorough victory over the Panthers.
Qandace Samuels dropped a game-high 30 points on 11-of-13 shooting, including a sizzling 8-of-10 from 3-point range to lead McNamara, while Georgia commit Zhen Craft and Mary Amoateng had 12 points apiece and Princess Moody and Vanessa Harris each finished with 8.
“It feels great,” Craft said. “We had that one early loss and I feel like since then we’ve been a train that no one can stop so far. We really took that a little bit hard and then we got right back in the gym. We knew we wanted to win WCAC’s - we knew that we were going to be a target. We knew that we choked every year, so that wasn’t going to be the case this year. A lot of our seniors, we said, ‘That’s not going to be the case.’ And we some really great underclassmen who can perform. It’s just a team effort; we’re all sisters, we’re all family and we love to see each other succeed.”
The game was relatively close early, with McNamara leading 19-11 after one quarter. They seized complete control in the second, outscoring St. Frances 24-5 to take a commanding halftime lead, and continued to roll after the break.
“[The key was] just our work,” Craft said. “We get in the gym all the time, do extra workouts and just play together. Our coaches prepare us for every situation, so it was just trusting our work ethic and translating it into the game.”
UMBC commit Heidi Williams had 8 points to lead the Panthers.
“[Repeating] was definitely on the list - of course when you do it once, you want to do it again. So just to be able to leave a legacy since I’m a senior and everything like that has been great,just having fun with all my teammates and my sisters.”
