Wood boys storm back to win first Catholic League title

Archbishop Wood was all out of sorts in the first half against Neumann-Goretti, making only 6 of 23 field-goal attempts. On top of that, Collin Gillespie and company went 1 for 12 from three-point land.

Coming out of the locker room an entirely different team, the Vikings found a way to erase a 15-point deficit and capture their first Catholic League championship with a 65-58 victory in front of a packed crowd Monday night at the Palestra.

Down by 31-18 at intermission, John Mosco's squad managed a 17-6 spurt at the start of the second half and took its first lead of the night, 43-41, on Gillespie's runner.

After N-G took a 50-49 advantage midway through the fourth, Wood all but sealed matters with an 8-0 burst that was highlighted by Seth Pinkney's putback of a Gillespie miss.

"It's mind boggling," Mosco said. "I was so used to it over there [Mosco was a longtime assistant at N-G], and I didn't think we always enjoyed it. I told my guys to take their time and enjoy the ride, and that's what they did."

In the final 16 minutes, the Vikings (22-3) shot 15 for 23 from the floor (11 for 14 from the line) and 6 for 9 from beyond the arc.

Gillespie, who is ticketed for Villanova, netted 22 of his game-high 24 points after intermission. He added seven assists and three rebounds.

Matt Cerruti contributed 15 points to the historic triumph; Tyree Pickron nailed three third-quarter treys en route to 13 points; and Pinkney added eight points and four blocks.

Gillespie shot 6 for 7 from the field (2 for 3 on treys) in the second half. He went 8 for 9 from the stripe in the final stanza.

N-G's Quade Green, a dynamic guard bound for Kentucky, paced the Saints, who were ahead by 30-15 with 2:53 to go in the second quarter, with 18 points and seven assists.

N-G started strong, shooting 13 for 26 from the field and 3 for 4 from the line in the first half.

Ahead by 19-15 early in the second frame, the Saints (18-7) gained control with an 11-0 spurt that was started by Mike Millsip's steal and layup and followed by Green's two jumpers and trey from up top.

With the Vikings making only 1 of 8 three-point attempts, N-G was in front, 19-11, at the end of the first quarter.

Neumann-Goretti 19 12 10 17 - 58

Archbishop Wood 11 7 25 22 - 65

NG: Quade Green 18, Noah Warren 13, Dhamir Cosby-Roundtree 8, Mike Millsip 11, Marcus Littles 4, Christian Ings 2, Emil Moody 2.

AW: Collin Gillespie 24, Seth Pinkney 8, Matt Cerruti 15, Tyree Pickron 13, Andrew Funk 2, Karrington Wallace 3.