Mount Saint Joseph basketball coach Pat Clatchey gets win No. 800

Mount Saint Joseph basketball coach Pat Clatchey was pleased to head into league play with an undefeated record as his No. 1 Gaels pulled away from visiting St. Mary’s-Ryken for a 68-36 win Monday to improve to 8-0.

But Monday night was about the 32-year coach, who got another ball to stash in his home office and a courtside gathering to celebrate his 800th career win, becoming the third boys basketball coach in state history to reach that mark. Legendary DeMatha coach Morgan Wooten racked up 1,274 wins in his 46-year career to set the standard while Wicomico coach Butch Waller, who starts his 58th season this week, is second on the list with 902 victories.

After talking about his Gaels’ performance, highlighted by a dominating second half to shake off the Knights, Clatchey, a 1980 Mount Saint Joseph graduate, spoke about his successful formula.

“You have to have longevity and you have to win. We’ve been averaging like 25 wins a year,” he said. “Pretty much the same style of play, the same system — good half-court man-to-man defense, take care of the ball, get some good players and get them to share the ball and not beat ourselves.”

Leading 30-21 at the half, the Gaels scored nine straight points midway through the quarter and went on to build a 50-31 lead going into the fourth quarter. All-Metro senior forward Tyonne Farrell scored a game-high 21 points and senior guard DJ Wingfield scored nine of his 15 points in the second half. Junior forward Brandon Holmes was the third Gael in double figures with 10.

Farrell, a Rhode Island commit, has come to appreciate his coach more and more each of his varsity years.

“He’s just an amazing coach — the best coach,” he said. “He always puts me in a situation to succeed and he always tries to test me and put me up to something to see if I can do it, pushing me further than I would push myself. It’s made me a better player.”

After the ball presentation on Monday, attention quickly turned to Wednesday. The Gaels open league play in the Baltimore Catholic League and Maryland Interscholastic Athletic Association A Conference on Wednesday when they travel to Loyola Blakefield at 7 p.m.

“It’s always a priority for us, being in contention for the BCL regular-season title,” Clatchey said. “We got a tough game on the road to get ready for, so we have to get a good day of practice in tomorrow and be ready to go over there and compete.”