St. Frances has a lot to celebrate.
Coach William Wells brought Sean Mosley to St. Frances four years ago, and last night the two of them said goodbye to the Baltimore Catholic League in style in front of more than 2,000 fans.
Mosley led No. 8 St. Frances with a season-high 35 points as the Panthers won the 37th BCL tournament championship, 66-61, over No. 2 Mount St. Joseph at Loyola College. He showed the same kind of effort he did in 2005 as a freshman in a 57-48 victory over Towson Catholic.
Wells groomed Mosley and showed supreme confidence in his freshman star four years ago by urging him to be a leader.
"The kids really wanted it, and Sean played really well," Wells said as tears rolled down his face after last night's game.
Mosley took Most Valuable Player honors last night, just as he did as a freshman, but the numbers showed his maturity under Wells, who won his sixth BCL title in 20 years to tie the late Ray Mullis of Cardinal Gibbons for the most in tournament history.
Wells is retiring as head coach, turning the job over to his top assistant, Mark Karcher, who led the Panthers to three consecutive BCL titles (1995-1997).
In 2005, Mosley led St. Frances with 18 points in the final and had 46 total in three games. This year, he scored 79 points in three games, and last night played in front of his future coach, Maryland's Gary Williams.
The 35-point effort brought Mosley's career total to 2,844 to tie former Cardinal Gibbons star Quintin Dailey (1976-1979) for second place on the state's all-time scoring list.
"This was a special year for us," said Mosley, who hit 15 of 18 free throws last night as the Panthers improved to 27-8. "We had to get this for Coach Wells. He gets emotional on us sometimes, but this was wonderful. I'm honored God gave me the talent I have."
Mount St. Joseph (30-4) was looking for its first BCL title since 2006, which was its third since 2003 under coach Pat Clatchey.
"They deserved to win, and we didn't get the job done," said Clatchey, who didn't make any excuses for 6-foot-11 center Henry Sims, who played with a pulled groin through the tournament and had eight points, seven rebounds and two blocks last night. "Mosley really stepped up and made a lot of free throws."
Eric Atkins led the Gaels with 17 points, and Quentin Jones and Justin McCoy had 15 and 14, respectively.
The Gaels led 26-23 at the half, but by the end of the third period, St. Frances held a 44-37 lead and finished strong.
Both teams will play next week in the 48th Alhambra Catholic Invitational Tournament in Frostburg.
pat.omalley@baltsun.com