Tonight's Baltimore Catholic League boys basketball championship game -- Mount St. Joseph vs. Calvert Hall set for 7 p.m. at Loyola University's Reitz Arena -- promises to be an intriguing matchup bolstered by the developments that transpired in Sunday's semifinal round.

The top-seeded and regular-season champion Gaels (30-3) didn't come close to resembling the team that went undefeated in league play during the regular season, allowing Cardinal Gibbons to stay close throughout before advancing with a sluggish 53-45 win.

Mount St. Joseph coach Pat Clatchey described his team's performance as 'blase'; senior forward Ryley Beaumont said the team played uncharacteristically selfish at the offensive end; and senior guard Matt Miller added the team will have to pick it up significantly if a title is to be had.

Calvert Hall, on the other hand, goes into tonight's game oozing with confidence. Cardinals coach John Bauersfeld said his team had high expectations going into the season with seniors Jonathan Graham, Damion Lee and Donya Jackson primed to finally get over the hump.

The Cardinals (20-7) had no luck getting past either Mount St. Joe and St. Frances during the regular season and then the Panthers got the better of them in the Maryland Interscholastic Athletic Association A Conference semifinals on their way to defending that league crown.

So finally, last night, the Cardinals were playing to their full potential and built a 12-point lead in the fourth quarter against St. Frances, only to see the Panthers rally and send the game into overtime. It would have been easy for for Calvert Hall to fold, almost understandable considering the track record, but the Cardinals -- behind 29 points from Jackson -- showed resolve and found a way to overcome. Which brings both teams to tonight's championship game.

Can Mount St. Joseph quickly right the ship and play the kind of team basketball that it has in winning 30 games this season? Will the Cardinals have enough energy and intensity left to maintain the level of play it showed in getting past St. Frances?