Varsity Basketball vs. Saint Frances Game Recap

Varsity Basketball vs. Saint Frances Game Recap 

The Mount Saint Joseph 2014-2015 Varsity basketball team has faced quite a few doubts this preseason. Many have referenced the youth and inexperience of this team as, "only three players are returning from last years squad." The young Gaels proved to be ready for their first test of the season, the 2nd ranked St. Frances Panthers, as they handily won 62-45 on Friday, December 5, 2014.

The Smith Center had a a college like atmosphere that night. The Gaels played in front of a sold-out crowd, and a rowdy student section. The Gaels proved why they will be contenders for the BCL and MIAA championships again this year.

The Student Section organized a "Costume Theme" for the game where they also participated in a Twitter contest hosted by the school. The participant needed to Tweet a picture of their costume using the hashtag #MSJvsFSA to win free Stromboli for a month. The picture with the most Retweets won the prize. Congrats to Mount Saint Joseph student Tyler Lassen with 59 Retweets on his costume Tweet!  

Mount Saint Joseph jumped out to a slow start, but that only made for a much anticipated "Silent Night" demonstration. The student section, decorated with many exotic costumes, remained seated in complete silence until the Gaels scored their 10th point, when then complete craziness took place. The Gaels led 13-10 after the 1st quarter.

Mount Saint Joseph came out with intensity in the second quarter, as they scored 5 points in 40 seconds, and forced a St. Frances time out. The 1st half ended with an exclamation mark, as sophomore Darryl Morsell '17 slammed home a pass from junior Randy Miller '16. The Gaels led at the break 28-21. 

The team controlled the second half not relinquishing their double digit lead but only once. The defensive effort by the Gaels seemed to disrupt St. Frances' offensive, while the home team seemed to thrive off of transition buckets. Lone freshman Jalen Smith '18 recorded 6 blocks during his first varsity start. 

Junior Randy Miller '16 led all scorers with 15, while fellow junior Doc Barnes '16 contributed 14 points and 8 boards, and sophomore point guard Justice Kendall '16 finished with 12. St. Frances was led by senior forward Josh Ayeni '15, who scored a quiet 13 points.

The 7-1 Gaels will travel to Gilman for their game at 6pm, but will return home next Friday (12/19) to face the Loyola Dons, tip-off will be at 7:00 pm.

A special thanks to our Athletics Department, Security, and Staff for making this game such a fun and exciting event at Mount Saint Joseph! 

GO GAELS! 

Please follow @MSJStudents on Twitter for all Student Section news and live game feed.
For more Mount action follow the main school Twitter account @MSJGaels.

Mount Juniors Participate In National Youth Leadership Mission

Mount Juniors Participate In National Youth Leadership Mission 

The Anti- Defamation league sponsored a four day National Youth Leadership Mission in Washington D.C. last week, and three of Mount Saint Joseph's finest attended. Juniors Ben Saia, Joe Ruf, and Jimmy Rosa collaborated with over 100 students from across the United States to promote the fight against hate. The Mount Saint Joe students were apart of a larger Washigton D.C. delegation comprised of other students from southern Maryland and the nations capital.

The students participated in numerous different activities over the four days. There were a number of break out sessions, when students had the opportunity to discuss different topics regarding hate, violence, discrimination, and other issues that plague our world today. In these sessions Saint Joe students interacted with others from Albany, Los Angeles, New Orleans, Florida, Denver, Chicago, and many other regions. On days two and three the group took a trip to the Holocaust Museum and took a a walking tour of Washington, D.C. There were also multiple keynote speakers throughout the week.

When asked their favorite part, Ben recalled that he enjoyed the Concert Against Hate at the Kennedy Center on Monday night, where the National Symphony Orchestra played and there were two celebrity appearances by Leslie Uggams and Isaiah Whitlock. The most memorable part for Jimmy was when Lithuanian Holocaust survivor, Nesse Goden talked to the group. A line from Nesse that Jimmy will always remember is "when I see children today, I see the future." Joe enjoyed hearing from Leon Bass, a World War II liberator of Buchenwald and civil rights activist. Now that the mission is over the delegates from DC plan to regularly update a blog that will educate all on domestic and foreign issues, including Genocide as well as the terrorist group, ISIS. In our very own Mount Saint Joseph community, Jimmy, Joe, and Ben plan to expand our pledge against hate, to include racial slurs as well as comments against body image.

A special thank you goes out to Mr. Shearer, who assisted in the success of this experience.

We commend Jimmy, Joe, and Ben for all their hard work, and look forward to positive change in Mount Saint Joseph's future.

(MSJ students with Holocaust Survivor, Nesse Goden.)

(Joe, Jimmy, and Ben in front of the Lincoln memorial on Day 2.)

(The representatives of the D.C. Delegation at ADL's NYLM)