Basketball: St. Frances Tops Dons on Senior Night

Forward Chris Brown did not make the Loyola Dons varsity roster in his junior year. However, dedication got him a jersey and a place on the team in his senior year. Although Brown has not received much playing time, when No. 7 St. Frances came to play in the halls of Blakefield on Friday night on Loyola’s senior night, it was Brown facing off against Panther center Josh Forney in the game’s opening tip-off. The referee tossed the ball in the air and Brown’s first career start was underway.

“It means a lot. It just shows how I have just stuck with the team and the team has supported me the whole time,” Brown said. “I think I played the best I could. I mean, I’m not a starter but I played to the best of my ability.”

Friday’s game was also the last home game for Dons senior point guard Dave Marsh, who has been a counted on as a leader for this young Dons team. Although Marsh had the task of having the pesky RJ Williams in his face for the majority of the night, Marsh still put up nine points in the Dons’ 65-48 loss to the Panthers.

“It’s always fun to play on senior night. I always saw it growing up,” Marsh said. “It’s totally different to experience it. I’m definitely going to miss this place. It’s been a good four years.”

Marsh is considering attending Johns Hopkins or Wake Forest after graduation.

Despite the Dons taking early momentum after jumping off to a quick 5-0 lead after Marsh hit a jump shot and junior guard Jordan Floyd converted on a 3-point play, St. Frances’ Williams took control of the game. Williams, who is headed toLoyola University Maryland, was just about impossible to stop and seemingly started to score at will.

Despite scoring a game-high 21 points, it is the defensive end of the ball where Williams shines the brightest.

Thanks to Williams’ pressure, the Dons were forced to play a full court game and started succumbing to the press, as they turned the ball over leading to easy Panther points.

“He controls the game,” Loyola head coach Josh Davalli said of Williams. “It’s tough to get him to do things he doesn’t want to do because he can do whatever he wants to do with the ball. He’s quick with it; he set’s his guys up. He’s a great team leader for them.”

Forward Shakir Brown was also a menace to the Dons, scoring 17 points beyond the arc.

St. Frances went into the fourth quarter up by 20 when the Dons began fighting back. Loyola went on a 10-0 run to start the fourth and cut the Panther lead to 10, 53-43. Although the Dons could not hold on they had solid contributions from sophomore Mitch Cross and junior Dan Vigus. Both led the Dons with 12 points each.

“I love this team,” Marsh said. “It’s a new set of guys. We haven’t been together for years, like the last teams were. I like how we always fight especially through the end; they had a big lead of 20 points we cut it all the way down to 10 with four minutes to go. We left it all out there and that’s really all you can ask.”

The Dons will participate in the Baltimore Catholic League Tournament on Feb. 24-25. The Dons will face either Calvert Hall or Mount St. Joseph’s in the first round.