(Enlarge) Loyola Blakefield’s Matt Rum weaves through three Calvert Hall defenders for a basket in the Dons’ 57-51 Baltimore Catholic League semifinal victory at Loyola College’s Reitz Arena. (Staff photo by Drew Anthony Smith)

Perfect execution of a game plan in a semifinal upset of archrival Calvert Hall put Loyola Blakefield in the Baltimore Catholic League championship game for the first time since 1993.

Their quest for the school's first title since 1978 ended in a 44-41 loss to St. Frances.

Although the title game loss may have been tough to swallow, at least it came against a team that was undefeated in the Catholic League (17-0).

Two days earlier, the Dons (18-13) scored a textbook 57-51 victory over second-seeded Calvert Hall (28-5), which was 12-2 in the BCL regular season and had swept both games from Loyola.

The matchup at Loyola College featured a pair of All-Catholic League First Team players in Loyola senior Matt Rum and Calvert Hall junior Jonathan Graham.

Rum led all scorers with 21 points (4 three-pointers) and grabbed six rebounds.

"He's a fantastic player and that's why he's one of the best ballplayers in the area in my opinion," Loyola coach Josh Davalli said. "He hits tough shots, but at the same time he's very unselfish."

Rum was supported by fellow starting seniors Brandon Floyd, Trevor Dauses and Terrance Garvin.

Dauses had 10 points and five rebounds, Garvin added six points and a game-high 13 rebounds. Floyd chipped in with six points and five boards.

Playing a 2-3 zone defense, the Dons limited the touches of Calvert Hall's 6-foot-8 Graham, who took only three first-half shots and finished with 10 points (4-for-8) and five rebounds.

"Graham is a great player," Davalli said. "You have to make him take tough shots and keep the ball out of the lane and we did a great job of that."

Donya Jackson led the Cards with a team-high 20 points and guard Shawn Holmes opened things up with a pair of three-pointers in a 15-second span.

The second trey cut Loyola's lead to 42-41 with 4:34 remaining, but Dauses answered with a follow shot for a three-point lead.

Junior Matt Mathias made eight straight free throws to seal the win.

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