Basketball Notebook

LOYOLA ACADEMY: A desert dandy.

Loyola Academy defeated the No. 1 team in the state of Arizona over the holiday break.

Highlighted by Michael Mangan (16 points, 4 assists, 3 rebounds and 6-for-6 free-throw shooting) and Brandon Danowski (17 points), the Ramblers topped Desert Vista of Phoenix 52-51 on Dec. 30 at the Visit Mesa Basketball Challenge.

Mangan put LA ahead for good, when he hit two free throws with 13 seconds left to play.

Ramar Evans tallied seven points and five rebounds, while Peter Poggioli added six points and six rebounds. Mark Dowdle also had six points.

LA, which was scheduled to play St. Laurence on Jan. 6, finished the four-game set 3-1 to improve its overall mark to 9-4.

On Dec. 27, the Ramblers dropped a 65-52 decision to Chaparral. Danowski had 11 points. Mangan finished with 10.

A day later, they defeated Tempe 66-44. Danowski went 6-for-6 from beyond the three-point line and ended up with 24 points. Poggioli (13 points) and Mangan (10) also finished in double figures.

And in the tourney finale on Dec. 31, Danowski and Mangan scored 14 points apiece in a 42-28 victory over Sunnyslope.

At the Next Level

SPRING HILL COLLEGE: Ex-Loyola Academy stars James Clarke and Jack Morrissey have made quick transitions to the college game. Clarke has started 10 of 11 games for NCAA Division II Spring Hill and is averaging 7.7 points per game. The 6-foot freshman leads the team in made three-pointers (18), while he is second on the team in assists (24).

Fellow freshman Morrissey has appeared in all 11 games. So far, he’s 14-for-40 from three-point range.

DARTMOUTH: Connor Boehm, a 6-7 junior forward, is averaging 10.9 points per game for the Big Green (6-6). The New Trier grad is leading the team in rebounds (6.7), while he’s shooting a team-best 55 percent from the field. He had 20 points in Dartmouth’s latest victory, a 76-59 victory at Bryant on Dec. 31.

Next year, Boehm will team up with Lake Forest High School star Evan Boudreaux.