Montrose Christian Wins St. James Opener

Montrose Christian took the final game of this year's opening round of the St. James Invitational Tournament Thursday with a 64-47 win over St. John's of Prospect Hall in a repeat matchup of Coach Stu Vetter's prior and current teams. The two teams met last year in the opening round of this event with Montrose taking a 59-45 win.

Vetter, who took over Montrose after a successful career at Prospect Hall, has another strong cast of characters at the Rockville, MD, school. Perhaps the most intriguing player is Linas Kleiza, a 6-9, 225 pound junior center from Lithuana. Kleiza, in his first year at a U.S. school, has quick hands and strong fundamentals. He led Montrose with 14 points. Eric Price, a 6-2 freshman, addded 11 and 6-6 senior Nick George dropped in 10 points for the victors.

St. John's at Prospect Hall was paced by senior Aaron White's 15 points. Jered Lyons, a 5-9 sophomore, put in 10 points for the Frederick, MD, school.

Montrose pushed the ball for a 22-7 lead at the end of the opening quarter. Prospect Hall, with it's active defense, narrowed the margin to 10 (31-21) at the half. Montrose's steady play enabled them to rebuild the lead to 46-32 as the teams broke before the final stanza. Prospect Hall fought back but was unable to eat into the deficit as the game ended at 64-47.

Montrose will meet Thomas Johnson in the tournament semifinals Friday night at 7:00 pm. St. John's at Prospect Hall's matchup is against Riverdale Baptist in the second game of the evening (tip at 5:30 pm).

Box Score

Montrose Christian

St. John's at Prospect Hall