Top-ranked Gonzaga received quite a challenge from Baltimore's St. Frances and its University of Maryland bound superstar Sean Mosley, but the Eagles remained posied down the stretch to navigate their way through a 68-63 win in the semifinals of the 48th annual Alhambra Catholic Inivitational, last night at Frostburg State University.  In the other semifinal, Bishop O'Connell setup an all WCAC championship game, as it upended Richmond's Benedictine High by an identical 68-63 score.

Gonzaga enjoyed several big leads, but had to weather a late push from the Panthers, as Mosley scored 12 of his game-high 32 points to keep his team alive.  The victory was iced by excellent free throw shooting, including 10-of-12  in the fourth quarter, including 7-of-8 from guard Tyler Thornton.

The Eagles (33-1) were led by forward Ian Hammer, who scored 20 points and added 10 rebounds, while Thornton and Cameron Johnson combined for 30 points.

St. Frances (28-10) was led by the second-leading career scorer in Maryland prep basketball history, Sean Mosley, who scored 32 points, collected six rebounds and had five steals. Anthony Oquendo came off the bench to give the Panthers 12 points and 11 rebounds.

Gonzaga led for most of the game, with its biggest advantage, 29-18, coming with 3:22 left in the first half.  St. Frances, however, crept back to within four, 31-27, late in the first half, when Mosley converted the three-point play.

A slam dunk by Hammer at 1:01 of the half, and a free throw by Cedrick Lindsay put the Eagles up by seven, 34-27, at the half.

Gonzaga went up by nine early in the third quarter, but the Panthers (28-10) continued to fight back.  In the fourth quarter, St. Frances turned a pair of Gonzaga turnovers into quick scores, and when Wayne Sparrow hit a three-pointer from the left wing, the Panthers had their first lead since 2-0, 51-50, with 5:47 left.  Gonzaga moved back in front and, after Mosley scored to tie the game at 54, with 4:18 to go, the Eagles went back in front to stay, stretching the lead back to as many as seven points.

Another St. Frances rally cut the lead to 65-63, follwing Mosley's final hoop, with just 42 seconds to go, but Lindsay hit two free throws with 34.2 seconds left, and Johnson closed things out with one more.

Gonzaga was 20-for-26 from the line on the night, while St. Frances went 15-for-20.

In the nightcap, O'Connell (30-6) followed the lead of Georgetown bound senior guard Jason Clark, who fired in 19 points, including 13 in the final quarter, to avenge a recent loss to Benedictine, in the Virginia state championship game, with a 68-63 victory last night.

O'Connell started the game on an 8-1 run and led 28-22 at the half. Benedictine evetually made a charge and took its first lead, with 4:38 left in the third quarer, when Erik Moddy scored to put them up, 34-33.

In the fourth quarter, however, Clark began his big finish with a steal and a dunk, as the Knights ran out to a 61-49 lead.  Benedictine never got closer than five the rest of the way.

Tonight's championship game will tip at 8:15 pm.  It is a rematch of last month's WCAC Championship Game, won by Gonzaga, 71-63.  The teams have played three times this season and the Eagles have taken all three.