King and Epps combine for 52 points to lead St. John's Catholic Prep.

After dragging top-ranked Mount St. Joseph into overtime one week ago, only to come away with a tough five-point loss, St. John's Catholic Prep finished off another ranked MIAA A Conference opponent, on Friday night in Frederick, as the Vikings defeated #8 John Carroll, 86-77.

The win, however, did not come without a few nervous moments late in the contest.

Behind the dynamic 1-2 punch of junior Troy King (game-high 28 points) and senior Trent Epps (career high 24 points) St. John's took control in the second half and led by as many as 12 points with 3:20 left.  But, poor free throw shooting led the way for a late John Carroll run and the Patriots pulled within four, with just 1:16 left.

Despite the adversity, the Vikings (6-7, 2-6) held their compusure and following a bench technical on John Carroll, freshman Grandy Glaze sank two free throws to give St. John's an 82-75 advantage with just 18-seconds to play.

The first half was extremely competitive.  St. John's led through much of the early going, but John Carroll (13-6, 7-3) rallied to lead by as many as six in the second quarter.  The Vikings hit two late threes to send the game to the half in a 35-35 deadlock.  In the third quarter, John Carroll led by four early, but Epps would score 10 straight points in the quarter to give the Vikings and advantage they never surrendered.

Isaiah Philmore and Raphael Jordan each scored 16 points to pace John Carroll and freshman Malcolm McMIllan, a recent call-up from the junior varsity, scored a season-high 12 points.

St. John's Catholic Prep 84, John Carroll 78
John Carroll: Philmore 16, Evans 8, Jordan 16, Maczko 3, McQuaid 9, W. Smith 3, McMillan 12, Kusmieruk 4, Wiegand 7. Totals 25 23-33 78.
St. John's: Delinal 11, Hunt 4, King 29, Epps 22, Akinwale 4, Thomas 4, Glaze 10. Totals 29 18-32 84.
Half: 35-35.