Neumann-Goretti boys headed to state title game

Eastern York came in Tuesday night with a gaudy 31-0 record, had a loud throng of yellow-shirted fans on hand to support it and believed it had the strong perimeter shooting and physical defense needed to upend highly touted Neumann-Goretti.

The Golden Knights kept things interesting most of the way, but the Saints' overall athleticism, scoring balance and big-game experience proved too much for the District 3 champions.

Senior forward Danny Stewart, with 20 points and 13 rebounds, led five players in double-digit scoring as the Saints turned back Eastern York, 81-73, in a state Class AAA semifinal in front of a hostile crowd at Reading High's Geigle Complex.

Guards Tyreek Duren (18 points), Tony Chennault (14), Lamin Fulton (14), and Mustafaa Jones (13) helped the Saints move closer to a goal that has been driving them since last year's loss to Archbishop Carroll in the state quarterfinals.

"It's a guard's game, and we have four excellent ones," Neumann-Goretti coach Carl Arrigale said. "They all shoot well, pass well, run the floor. And we have a fifth one [reserve Billy Shank] who's pretty good, too."

For N-G coaches and players, the "overrated" chant down the stretch from Eastern York fans was amusing.

"They had a lot of people in their corner," Duren said, "but that makes us play harder. We like people rooting against us. When that happens, we turn up the volume."

On Friday, 8 p.m. at Penn State's Bryce Jordan Center, Neumann-Goretti (29-1) will vie with Chartiers Valley (29-1), a 76-67 winner over District 7 rival Hampton Tuesday night at Duquesne University, for the state championship.

Stewart, a high-leaping force and Rider recruit, was on the scoring end of at least three alley-oop passes from the La Salle-bound Duren. "We've been working on that since about sixth grade," Duren said. "When I give him the head nod, he knows what to do."

Five of Stewart's 13 rebounds came on the offensive end, and he added three blocks; Chennault, slowed in the second half by foul trouble, grabbed seven boards; Duren notched six assists and three blocks; and Jones posted two blocks and two assists.

"It was four Division I players," said Andrew "Red" Nicholas, a 6-6 Eastern York junior and Rutgers commit who netted 18 points and 10 boards. "They're really quick. They can jump. They're athletic. They're just an all-around good team, and we played our best tonight. There's nothing to be ashamed of."

Overall, the Saints shot 26 for 50 (52 percent) from the field (8 for 18 from beyond the arc). In the first half, Fulton and 6-5 sophomore reserve forward Derrick Stewart, each picking up two fouls, saw limited time.

Austin Tillotson, a 6-foot junior point guard, had a game-high 26 points for the Golden Knights.

Neumann-Goretti   19 16 25 21 - 81

Eastern York   16 11 21 25 - 73

NG: Tyreek Duren 18, Mustafaa Jones 13, Danny Stewart 20, Lamin Fulton 14, Tony Chennault 14, Billy Shank 2.

EY: Andrew Nicholas 18, Austin Tillotson 26, Luke Barto 4, Ryky Smith 2, Nate Bollinger 12, Davin Zimmerman 9, Mark Bailey 2.