DeMatha suffers first basketball loss

A perfect season for DeMatha (Hyattsville, Md.) was foiled in the mountains of West Virginia.

Syracuse-bound Michael Carter-Williams nailed a 3-pointer with 27 seconds left on the clock and then hit a tough layup in traffic, was fouled, and converted the free throw to give St. Andrew's School (R.I.) a stunning 49-46 triumph over previously undefeated DeMatha (12-1, 4-0) in the Cancer Research Classic in Wheeling, W. Va.

DeMatha, which dropped from No. 9 to No. 20 in the MaxPreps Xcellent 25 Boys Basketball Rankings sponsored by the Army National Guard, was led by Beejay Anya's 16 points and James Robinson's 14.

Carter-Williams, who was named the tournament's Most Valuable Player, led all scorers with 26 points and also had six steals. St. Andrew's outscored DeMatha 22-14 in the final quarter.



"We must be ready to play each time out and take everyone's best shot," DeMatha coach Mike Jones said in an e-mail following the loss. "We cannot take anything for granted. We are a young team but we cannot play young."

DeMatha will return home to take on conference foes St. Mary's Ryken on Tuesday and Paul VI Catholic on Thursday before heading to Springfield, Mass., to face national power St. Anthony's (N.J.) on Saturday. The game will be televised by ESPN.

MONTROSE CHRISTIAN CONTINUES TO ROLL
Montrose Christian (Rockville, Md.) moved up to No. 13 in the MaxPreps Xcellent 25 sponsored by the Army National Guard after winning two consecutive games over the weekend to move its record to 10-0.

Friday night Montrose jumped out to an early lead and made easy work of an overmatched Freedom Woodbridge (Va.) team, 100-45.

Junior forward Michael Carrera had a game-high 26 points, including hitting eight of 11 from the charity stripe, and senior guard Tyrone Johnson (Villanova signee) chipped in with 20 points to help the Mustangs build a 50-21 halftime lead they would never relinquish.

On Saturday, Montrose Christian traveled to Trinity University in Washington, D.C., to take on Coolidge High School (D.C.) in The Uptown Hoopfest. The Mustangs made their trip to the nation's Capitol worthwhile, coming away with a decisive 72-40 win.



NORCOM FINISHES GRUELING WEEK PERFECT
Norcom (Portsmouth, Va.) remained perfect at 12-0 following four wins last week and moved up to No. 7 in the MaxPreps Xcellent 25 sponsored by the Army National Guard.

The Greyhounds played four games over five days starting with a relatively easy win over conference foe Lake Taylor, 74-56, on Tuesday, and ending Saturday with a thrilling 68-66 victory over No. 22-ranked Findlay Prep (17-2) in the Seven Cities Roundball Classic.

Against Findlay Prep, Dorian Finney-Smith (Virginia Tech signee) was held to just eight points, but his two free throws with 9.5 seconds remaining sealed the Greyhounds' 23rd consecutive win.

Sandwiched between those two wins, Norcom narrowly defeated rival Norfolk Christian 69-67 on Thursday and cruised to a 73-56 win over Norview Friday.

Jeremy Canty and Finney-Smith each had a team-high 16 points in the win over Norfolk Christian, which was played in front of a sold-out crowd. North Carolina-bound James McAdoo scored a game-high 24 points to lead the Ambassadors (6-4).

On Friday, Canty poured in six 3-pointers on his way to a game-high 22 points to lead the Greyhounds over Norview. Finney-Smith added 15 points for Norcom.SANFORD SHAKES OFF RUST TO REMAIN UNDEFEATED{PAGEBREAK}SANFORD SHAKES OFF RUST TO REMAIN UNDEFEATED
Following a 21-day layoff caused by a scheduling change, Delaware's top-ranked boys team, Sanford (Hockessin, Del.), continued to dominate its opponents, both in-state and out, with four consecutive wins.



Sanford (6-0) defeated Pennsylvania's Archbishop John Carroll High School (66-60) and Chester High (62-57) over the holiday before resuming its Delaware schedule with wins over St. Elizabeth (63-57) and Salesianum (51-38) last week.

The Warriors continue to benefit from a balanced scoring attack led by Trevor Cooney, Deon Jones and Khallid Hart, who create matchup problems for opponents.

"Having scoring balance makes it difficult for opponents to key on any one guy," coach Stan Waterman said. "We have a few guys capable of scoring 20-plus points on any given night. We've done a good job thus far of sharing the ball and spreading around the scoring. They (Cooney, Jones and Hart) score in different ways. They are good perimeter shooters, they attack the basket and they're getting to the free-throw line."

Cooney, who has committed to Syracuse, scored 16 and 12 points in the two wins against St. Elizabeth and Sallies. Senior guard/forward Deon Jones (undecided) had 23 and 11, and junior Khallid Hart chipped in with 15 and 12.

FOOTBALL RECRUITING NEWS
Demitri Knowles (Liberty Christian Academy, Va.) verbally committed to Virginia Tech. The wide receiver was also considering offers from Connecticut and Virginia.

STAT OF THE STARS
Appoquinimink (Del.) senior A. J. English scored 41 points, including nine 3-pointers, to lead the Jaguars to a 76-52 conference win over McKean Friday night.



THE BUZZ
Gilman senior Darius Jennings was unable to play in the 2011 Under Armour High School Football Game Wednesday night at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Fla., due to lingering effects from a concussion the highly recruited quarterback received in last week's Chesapeake Bowl all-star game.

Top-ranked Oak Hill Academy (Mouth of Wilson, Va.) (15-0) — No. 1 in the MaxPreps Xcellent 25 sponsored by the Army National Guard — returns to the hardwood after a 21-day layoff when the Warriors host Christian Faith Academy (N.C.) on Wednesday at 6 p.m. The game will be a good tune-up for Oak Hill prior to Saturday's game against Milton High School (Ga.) in Springfield, Mass. That game will be televised on ESPNU at 8 p.m.

Jon Buzby is the sports columnist for the Newark Post, a freelance writer, and on the broadcast team for the 1290AM The Ticket High School Football and Basketball Games of the Week. You can reach him at jonbuzby@hotmail.com.