St. Mary’s High boys basketball team put together an impressive run to the MIAA B Conference championship last season. The Saints have every intention of keeping the trophy this winter.

No. 12 St. Mary’s defeated host Archbishop Curley, 62-53, in an early season battle of first in the MIAA B Monday evening in Baltimore City. Senior forward Aidan Harris scored 16 points for the Saints, and Casey Smith added 14.

St. Mary’s used its size and shooting to construct a 20-point halftime advantage before leaning on its experience to hold off a Friar charge in the fourth to improve to 7-4 overall and 5-0 in league play. The Saints have claimed 26 consecutive decisions in league play, including playoffs.

Monday was just the second single-digit result during St. Mary’s league streak.

“It’s always tough coming up here…they’ve played some really tough early season games,” said Saints coach Trey Quinn. “We knew it would be a tough test.”

Quinn went with his senior nucleus of Casey Smith, Aidan Harris, Grady Wolfe, Jaden Bryant and Ajani Lomax in the final quarter. Lomax placed in double figures Monday with 13 points.

Lomax found Smith, who dropped a 3-pointer from the corner on the Saints’ next trip, giving the Annapolis squad a 53-43 advantage with 5 minutes, 22 seconds left in regulation.

It was redemption for Smith, who missed three free throws on the Saints’ prior trip, which was followed by a Curley score, bringing the hosts to within seven.

“Our five starters have been playing together since seventh and eighth grade. We have a lot of chemistry,” said Smith, a 6-foot-4 guard. “We all compliment each other on the floor, play great defense together, share the ball well with each other. It helps us win a lot of games.”

The Saints never trailed after an 11-0 run, capped by Smith’s rebound and basket, put them ahead, 16-9, late in the opening quarter. St. Mary’s closed the first half with 15 straight to take a commanding 38-18 lead at halftime.

Harris, who will play for St. Francis (PA) University next season, scored eight, including a couple of mid-range jumpers. Casey Wolfe converted a layup off a steal, and Smith added a transition score after 6-foot-10 sophomore Mason Hooper’s defensive board and outlet pass. Wolfe found Lomax who dropped a 3-point dagger in the final seconds to close the run.

“They (Curley) were making a lot of shots early. We started trusting our defense,” said Quinn. “We were able to secure some rebounds, pitch it out and get out on the break. We want to defend and beat the defense down the court.”

Curley (5-5, 3-1 MIAA B), which has two A Conference wins (Boys’ Latin and Calvert Hall) on its non-league ledger, climbed back into contention. The Friars got the margin under 10 at 50-41 after two free throws from junior Logan Nordick with less than six minutes left in regulation.

After Smith’s three missed free throws. Kamren Hayes hit a jumper, bringing Curley to 50-43 with 5:34 left to play. The Friars were within, 56-50, after two free throws from Isaiah Yates with 47.1 seconds left, but St. Mary’s converted six of seven free throws.

Sophomore guard Omarr Smith finished with 17 points for Curley, and sophomore Brian Collins added 13. The Friars, who won the 2021 MIAA B crown, have one senior on their roster.

“We did a better job adjusting in the second half,” said Curley coach Darnell Hopkins. “They went to a zone and didn’t make the adjustments. We didn’t try to attack the zone, flash in the middle, like we did in the second half.”

Hopkins thinks St. Mary’s is still the class of the MIAA B.

“They’re very skilled and they got guys that make the right decisions on the court,” said Hopkins. “They got a lot of points off offensive putbacks. They haven’t missed a beat from last year.”

NO. 12 ST. MARY’S 62, ARCHBISHOP CURLEY 53

St. Mary’s - Harris 16, Smith 14, Lomax 13, Hopper 8, Wolfe 6, Bryant 5. Totals 24 8-15 62.

Curley - Smith 17, Collins 13, Yates 7, Hayes 6, Koger 6, Nordick 4. Totals 20 9-10 53.

St. Mary’s 16 22 10 14 - 62

Curley 13 5 17 18 - 53