Patriots win! The boys basketball team upset the number 1 seed St. Frances team in the Baltimore Catholic League championship in an overtime victory.

Dubbed the “underdogs” in the tournament, John Carroll basketball defeated the top three seeds in the tournament after being a six-seed themselves.
They are only the second team to be at the number six-seed to go on and win the BCL championship title. The Patriots were also the first team ever to win three upset victories in the history of the tournament. An upset victory is defined as beating a team three seed lines or better.
The start to their season was not the prettiest, but that did not stop them.
Junior Tyson Commander said, “Losing early in the season was a check on our character, and it only made us better as a team. The energy we share on the court is like no other, and I wouldn’t trade this team for the world.”
For the championship game, Head Coach Seth Goldberg said, “I expected our guys to be focused on what they can control. I expected them to bring a ton of energy, be extremely tough, play extremely hard, and stay together regardless of what was going on around them.”
For his advice Coach Goldberg told the team to “focus on our mindset and what we can control, especially defensively. Be engaged with each other. Most importantly, have fun!”
Coach Goldberg said that the perfect three words to describe this team are “tough, together, and fun.”
Sophomore Jeannot Basima said, “Being the underdog made me play harder because I wanted to gain respect and show others what my hard work can accomplish.”
Jeannot also was named the BCL MVP, with a performance of 29 points
Tyson also said, “Being the underdogs definitely made us play better because it made us hungry. We wanted to do the ‘impossible’ instead of going and just playing to see what happens. We were on a mission to prove many people wrong.”
Principal Tom Durkin said, “We are so proud of our Boys Varsity Basketball Team! Not since 1989 did a sixth seed defeat the top three seeds to capture the Baltimore Catholic League Championship. Congratulations to our student-athletes, coaches, parents, and all our community members who persevered through incredible challenges to bring this championship to John Carroll!”