St. Paul's traveled to Middle River last night and battled tough against the best team in the MIAA B Conference, but when all was said and done, the host Cougars had too much fire power for the Crusaders, as they captured their 16th win of the season, 86-74.

All five starters scored in double figures for Mount Carmel (16-1, 7-0), led by 19 points from senior Troy Franklin, who shared the wealth by delivering 11 assists to his teammates.  Rummel King and Stanford McNair each scored 18 points and combined for 19 rebounds, while Marcanthony Franks and Dwayne Wheeler scored 12.  Franks also had a team-high 11 rebounds.

St. Paul's (7-5, 1-3), which is led by several underclassmen, hung in all the way, thanks in large part to a game-high 23 points from sophomore guard Virgil Davis.  In addition, sophomore Winfield Willis and freshman Miles Code combined for 30 points.

Elsewhere in the B Conference, St. Vincent Pallotti (7-6, 3-4) appears to be rebounding from a slow start as it romped past visiting Annapolis Area Christian, 75-49, last night in Laurel.

Senior Steve Flowers led the Panthers with 17 points, while Eugene Woody and Ryan Cook each scored a dozen.  In addition, senior Payton Flynn reached double figures with 10 points.

AACS junior forward Matt Gierl matched Flowers for game-high scoring honors, with 17 points, and he added eight rebounds.  Sophomore guard Andre Hilliard also added nine points for the Eagles (6-9, 2-6).

Mount Carmel 86, St. Paul's 74
St. Paul's: Davis 23, Johnston 5, Code 14, Sydnor 8, Willis 16, McCray 8. Totals 24 17-22 74.
Mount Carmel: Groom 5, Wheeler 12, Macey 2, McNair 18, King 18, Franklin 19, Franks 12. Totals 32 19-23 86.
Half: Mount Carmel, 39-33.

St. Vincent Pallotti 75, Annapolis Area Christian 49
AACS: Scantlin 6, Guirl 17, Cusimano 5, Williams 3, Hilliard 9, Day 2, Okonkwo 1, Bolderjack 6. Totals 19 4-6 49.
St. Vincent Pallotti: Porter 6, Flynn 10, Flowers 17, Cavallo 3, Watkins 1, Cook 12, Riley 3, Mryph 5, Woody 12, Washington 6. Totals 28 13-22 75.
Half: St. Vincent Pallotti, 45-34.