In possibly its finest performance of the year, Mount St. Michael methodically beat defending New York State Federation Class A champion Long Island Lutheran, 57-42, in the semifinals of the Josh Palmer Coaches vs. Cancer Tournament in Elmira, N.Y.
Malik Gil had 19 points, three assists and just one turnover, Anthony Masetre had 16, Ed Correa followed with nine and played lockdown defense on LuHi star Kentan Facey and Omari Manhertz grabbed 15 rebounds. The final is Thursday at 8 p.m.
“We played as well as we could play,” Mount coach Tom Fraher said. “We didn’t make mistakes. We slowed it down, we made shots, we defended great.”
Mount (8-1) led by just a point at halftime, but opened up the lead early in the second half and pulled away late. Gil, the Mountaineers’ 5-foot-9 guard, was integral to the victory, taking care of the ball, setting up teammates and scoring himself.
“He just made a lot of great decisions tonight,” Fraher said. “He played well. He made a couple of pull-ups, he made some tough drives. He played his best game of the season.”
Lincoln 48, Skyline (Wash.) 39: Tafari Whittingham had 20 points and 10 rebounds and Isaiah Whitehead added 11 for Lincoln (9-0) in the MaxPreps Holiday Classic in Palm Springs, Fla. The Railsplitters meet Harvard-Westlake (Calif.) Thursday at 10 p.m.
Bishop Loughlin 59, East Boston (Mass.) 54: Khadeen Carrington had 21 points and five rebounds, Mike Williams scored 14 points, junior Shywann Spencer added nine points and senior Kevin Ravanell Jr. had seven points and made three clutch free throws down the stretch for Loughlin (4-3) in the Shooting Touch Shootout in Boston, Mass. The Lions meet Hudson Catholic (N.J.) Tuesday at 2:30 p.m.
O.P. Walker (La.) 66, Holy Cross 58: Will Davis poured in 18 points, Mairega Clarke finished with 15 points and nine rebounds and Anthony Libroia had 1 for Holy Cross (8-2), which was outscored 29-18 in the fourth quarter and had its eight-game winning streak snapped, in the Tony Rodi Basketball Classic in New Orleans, La.
El Toro (Calif.) 54, Xaverian 50: Brian Bernardi had 11 points, George Lambert followed with 10 and Shakeel Kemp added nine points and 13 rebounds for Xaverian in the Cactus Jam Hoop Classic semifinals in Phoenix, Ariz.
Trinity Catholic (Conn.) 81, Archbishop Molloy 70: C.J. Davis scored 21 points and added seven assists and Brian Kruger had 13 points for Molloy (7-4) in the Northeast Christmas Classic in Bridgeport, Conn.
Transit Tech 64, Evander Childs 25: Richard Williams had 19 points, 11 rebounds and two blocks, Fabian MacDonald followed with 14 points, five rebounds and four assists and Matt Banton had 13 points for Transit Tech (6-6), which has won four straight, in the Aviator Shootout in Brooklyn.
Bayside 60, St. Francis Prep 38: Austin Williams pumped in 16 points, Cantrell Barker added 11 and Uzonna Akazi had 10 for Bayside (8-4) in the Aviator Shootout in Brooklyn. Andrew Winter scored nine points for St. Francis Prep (5-5) and Michael Fields, Darren Cordero and James Chavis had six apiece.
CSI/McCown 71, Midwood 52: Quamaine Tomlin had 27 points and Chris Frank added 19 for CSI/McCown (8-3) in the Aviator Shootout in Brooklyn.
Moore Catholic 63, Falmouth (Me.) 57: Scott Schaefer had 20 points, 13 rebounds and five assists and Mark Fiorello scored 18 points for undefeated Moore Catholic (12-0) in the opening round of the Portland Holiday Tournament in Portland, Me. The Mavericks meet Yarmouth (Me.) in the semifinals Thursday at 5:30 p.m.
CBA-Albany (N.Y.) 66, St. Peter’s 53: Andrew Cannon had 25 points, seven rebounds and five assists for St. Peter’s (5-4) in the CBA Holiday Tournament championship game in Albany, N.Y.
Georgetown Prep (Md.) 73, Regis 63, 2OT: Brian Cavaluzzo scored 18 points and Tim Petriccione added 14 for Regis in the Jesuit Christmas Classic in North Bethesda, Md. The Raiders meets Jesuit (New Orleans, La.) in the consolation round Thursday at 4:30 p.m.
Cardinal Spellman 45, Salesian 44: Matt Kerrigan scored 14 points and Anthony Williams had 13 for Spellman (5-3) in non-league. Kyle Williams had 13 points for Salesian (3-6).
Harry Van Arsdale 62, New Dorp 60, 2OT: Johnny Ayars scored 18 points for Van Arsdale in non-league. Michael Arubuola had 24 points for New Dorp (5-8).
Monsignor Farrell 53, West Windsor/North Plainfield (N.J.) 43: Connor Nicholson scored 22 points for Farrell in the consolation bracket of the Immaculata High School Tournament in Somerville, N.J.
Susan Wagner 42, Portland (Me.) 38: James Bertucci scored 13 points, Enijah Patterson had eight points and Ian Charles had seven for Wagner (5-8) in the Portland Holiday Tournament in Portland, Me. The Falcons face Cape Elizabeth in the semifinals Thursday at 7 p.m.
Liverpool (N.Y.) 69, St. Joseph by the Sea 51: Steve Matrangolo scored 16 points for Sea (4-6) in the Cicero Christmas Tournament in Cicero, N.Y.
Gompers 69, Manhattan Sports Academy 65: Carlos Galan had 22 points, six rebounds and five assists and Pierce Smith added 21 points for Gompers, which has won five games in a row, in the Kingdome Tournament.
Nazareth 52, Catskill (N.Y.) 38: Samson Usilo scored 24 points and Mike Megafu had 21 for Nazareth (4-4) in the Watervliet Boys Holiday Basketball Tournament in Watervliet, N.Y. It faces CBA-Syracuse (N.Y. in the CBA Holiday Classic in Syracuse, N.Y. on Thursday.