Archive: March, 2010
Gary Miles
Senior guards Vinny Walls and Derrick James led Camden to a 75-74 victory over Medford Tech today in the first round of the Group 2 tournament.
Walls scored 23 and led Camden's pressure defense. James scored 14 of his 19 in the fourth quarter.
Camden 19 17 24 15 -- 75
Medford Tech 22 23 16 13 -- 74
C: Vinny Walls 23, Derrick James 19, Devon Devine 4, Michael Myers 23, Trey Wilson 3, Ajawon Leaming 2.
MT: Davonte Carey 20, Lamaine Cooper 22, Greg Lawson 7, Donte Martinez 2, Khaliq Sutton 7, Brandon Johnson 9, Kennedy Chukwocha 7.
Gary Miles
Gary Miles
By Rick O'Brien
INQUIRER STAFF WRITER
And the quest for redemption — and the PIAA Class AAA state title — goes on.
Continuing its late-season roll, Neumann-Goretti knocked off Archbishop Carroll, 75-59, Monday night at the Palestra to claim its second consecutive Catholic League boys’ basketball championship and fourth league title in six seasons.
It was the Saints’ third win over the Patriots this season as the Blue Division rivals met twice during the regular season.
In addition to earning the league title, Neumann-Goretti (24-1) posted its 19th consecutive win since a 97-96 loss to Yates High, of Houston, in the prestigious Iolani Classic in Hawaii.
Next, the Saints, ranked No. 1 in Southeastern Pennsylvania by The Inquirer and coached by Carl Arrigale, will take on Dobbins, of the Public League, for the PIAA District 12 Class AAA championship Friday at Lincoln High at 8 p.m.
Carroll, 21-4 and ranked fifth by The Inquirer, was forced to play without starting point guard D.J. Irving.
The Boston University signee suffered a broken right hand in the second quarter of Wednesday’s Catholic League semifinal win over Red Division champion La Salle.
However, the Patriots, coached by Paul Romanczuk, are still alive in the hunt for one of District 12’s three berths in the Class AAA state tournament.
Wednesday night, in a rematch of last year’s third-place district game, Carroll will meet Simon Gratz, an overtime loser to Dobbins on Saturday, at Archbishop Ryan at 7:30.
Carroll, which won its one-and-only league championship in 1995, went into the game looking to control the pace and not get into a back-and-forth duel with the speedy Saints.
But the Saints took a 24-18 lead after the first period and led, 41-27 at halftime.
Carroll made a run in the third quarter, but the Saints tacked on 19 points in the fouth quarter to win going away.
During the regular season, Neumann-Goretti, which has won 21 of the teams’ last 22 meetings with the Patriots, defeated Carroll in Blue Division games on Jan. 13, 96-73, and Feb. 14, 66-58.
Last year, after beating Gratz for third place, Carroll went on to become the first Catholic League member to win a state title.
During that run, the Patriots surprised Neumann-Goretti, 70-65, in the state quarterfinals.
“I think about [that loss] quite often,” Neumann-Goretti’s Tony Chennault, a 6-foot-2 senior combination guard headed for Wake Forest, said in January.
“After that game, I think people forgot about all the things we accomplished” last season.
This year, Neumann-Goretti has five players capable of double-digit scoring: wing guards Chennault and Mustafaa Jones (Rider), 6-6 forward Danny Stewart (Rider), point guard Tyreek Duren (La Salle), and junior wing guard Lamin Fulton.
Whether they can all do it against Dobbins remains to be seen.
Archbishop Carroll 18 9 21 11 59
Neumann-Goretti 24 17 15 19 75
Contact staff writer Rick O'Brien at 610-313-8019 or robrien@phillynews.com.
