BALTIMORE — A frigid Saturday morning couldn’t stop hundreds, if not thousands, of people from showing up to Morgan State’s Hill Field House for high school basketball.
The fourth annual “A Very Melo Classic” on Jan. 31 featured 10 high school boys’ basketball teams and two from Baltimore. Former Towson Catholic and Oak Hill Academy standout Carmelo Anthony’s foundation help put on the event.
Two Maryland Interscholastic Athletic Association and Baltimore Catholic League teams — Mount Saint Joseph and Saint Frances — played in the event. Washington Catholic Athletic Association clubs Gonzaga, Bishop McNamara, St. John’s and Paul VI competed as well, as did Washington D.C.’s Sidwell Friends and national powerhouses Oak Hill (Va.), St. James Academy and Long Island Lutheran.
“It’s a blessing to get a chance to see some top high school [basketball in] Baltimore, to play a top-25 team at home — on a college floor,” said Saint Frances head coach Nick Myles, whose team played St. John’s. “The atmosphere is amazing.”
Mount Saint Joseph head coach Pat Clatchey concurs. With very little time left in the regular season, the event allows his players to play on a larger stage with national implications, thus preparing his players for MIAA A Conference and BCL postseason play.
“Me personally, I like the event at that time,” Clatchey said. “It breaks the monotony of playing league games and you’re going to play a quality opponent. It’s going to help you figure out some things about your team and see how you stack up ahead of the playoffs and the postseason tournament.”
Saint Frances junior guard Terence Jones was one of the stars of the day. Down 63-59 with 48 seconds to go in his team’s game against St. John’s, Jones drilled a 3-pointer and was fouled to go to the line. Sinking the free throw to knot the game at 63 became his second-most impressive feat of the quarter when he knocked down a game-tying three with four seconds left to send the game to overtime tied at 67.
Jones was fouled with 2:04 left in overtime and sank two free throws to tie the game at 69. Saint Frances junior guard Carter Fisk laid the ball up and was fouled with 45.1 seconds remaining in overtime, making both free throws to take a 73-71 lead. Ultimately, the Panthers won, 75-71, in front of their hometown crowd. Jones took home the game’s MVP award with a 23-point performance.
Jones also plays for Team Melo, Anthony’s EYBL team. He shook Anthony’s hand after the game and noted his trailblazing endeavors for basketball in Baltimore. He also wanted to show him what the city can continue to produce on the court.
Jones has scholarship offers from Mississippi State, Virginia Tech, West Virginia, Hampton, Nicholls, Towson, Georgetown, Saint Joseph’s and Villanova.
“Everybody came and showed love — a bunch of people, a bunch of coaches and I’m just happy I could do what I do,” Jones said of the atmosphere and speaking with Anthony. “I’m just trying to keep it going and getting people to talk about my name.”
Mount Saint Joseph squared off in the first game of the day against Gonzaga. Both teams, wearing purple and white, played in front of a crowd that featured Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott, Anthony himself and “Pardon The Interruption” host Michael Wilbon, whose son, Matthew, plays for Gonzaga.
The Gaels took down the Eagles, 66-56. Mount Saint Joseph’s BJ Ranson, son of former Maryland assistant and current Saint Joseph’s assistant Bino Ranson, led the team with 21 points and four assists. BJ Ranson was awarded the game’s MVP award.
This was the first time the Gaels won in the three years they’ve played in the event.
“I love it every year,” BJ Ranson said. “We lost the first two years that I was in it, but it feels good to win and it’s always a good, high-quality event. The city of Baltimore has great basketball and it’s good to showcase that. We’re a Baltimore team playing against another team from D.C., and it feels good to play well and put it on for our city.”
The St. James Academy — led by senior guard Jahda Swann’s 19 points — took down Bishop McNamara, 67-58, in the second game of the day.
Senior guard Kayden Allen then scored a game-high 25 points for Long Island Lutheran in a 50-45 victory against Sidwell Friends. Former Long Island Lutheran standout Kiyan Anthony, the son of Carmelo Anthony, assisted in propelling the team to further national relevance and is now at Syracuse. Sidwell Friends produced Josh Hart (New York Knicks) and Saddiq Bey (New Orleans Pelicans).
The final matchup featured Paul VI against Oak Hill Academy, the latter being Carmelo Anthony’s alma mater. Paul VI is the No. 1 team in the nation, per MaxPreps. The Panthers have the No. 2 player in the Class of 2026 in 6-foot-3 combo guard Jordan Smith Jr., who is a priority recruit for Duke.
Smith Jr. took home the game’s MVP award, pouring in 16 points en route to a 77-56 victory.
It was a great day for Baltimore basketball to Clatchey, who has 874 wins in his time as the Gaels’ head coach.
“I think Baltimore basketball for a long time — decades — traditionally we have quality players and quality teams,” Clatchey said. “We can compete against anyone. So, playing against a regional or national opponent gives you a chance to showcase your team and prove what your team is capable of.”
The opportunity for his team to play at a historically-Black university in Morgan State was special for Myles, a Bowie State graduate. Former Saint Frances standout Elijah Davis is currently averaging 13.2 points, 2.9 rebounds and 5.5 assists per game for Morgan. Myles wants to see more of his current and future players play at HBCUs.
“Every year we get a chance to play on the stage like this at an HBCU,” Myles said. “We’ve kind of exposed our athletes to it. I lot of HBCUs won’t recruit top high school athletes — I don’t know why, but hopefully in the future that may happen and we’ll get some more kids to play on this kind of floor.”
Photo Credits: Kyle Andrews/PressBox