Roman shocks Neumann-Goretti

THE EMOTION had faded slightly as the hallway leading to the visitors' locker room emptied. Reporters headed inside to pick coaches' brains, as players from both schools headed for the exits.

For a moment, the hall fell silent, its taupe walls and maroon-and-gray carpet no longer absorbing postgame chitchat. That's when Roman Catholic senior Rashann London vocalized how things had changed.

"It's a lot different," said the 6-2 guard, who will play at Drexel next season. "Everybody will definitely have a game plan to beat us. We were looking to beat teams, but [now] teams will really be game-planning for us, trying to beat us and knock us off."

Why the hunter-hunted transformation? Roman toppled Neumann-Goretti, 71-64, last night at what eventually became a packed crowd inside Philadelphia University's Gallagher Center.

The win left the Cahillites (13-2, 7-0) undefeated and alone atop the Catholic League totem with victories against the Saints (10-4, 5-1) and Archbishop Carroll (12-2, 4-1), two teams picked by many to claim the championship. It was only the second league loss for N-G in 6 years.

The conquest was Roman's first over the Saints since 2007, a streak that head coach Chris McNesby reminded his club of earlier this week.

"Just the other day, we were practicing at Drexel and Coach Chris started screaming at me and Shep [Garner], telling us to get after it," said London, who had 17 points. "I guess he thought we weren't going as hard as we were supposed to. He was just telling us that we haven't beaten them, and basically we have to beat them. So, I think that motivated us a lot, too."

The 5 p.m. start yielded a few bald spots in the stands, but by midway through the first frame, the bleachers were filled.

The Roman student section was there in force, decked in purple, replete with a blown-up photo of school principal Robert O'Neill's head bobbing up and down in the crowd.

The early basketball action wasn't as sharp.

No-play snow days concerned both coaches before tipoff, and validation followed quickly. More than 4 minutes of play resulted in a 6-6 stalemate that featured several missed shots and turnovers.

The quality, and pace, of play eventually picked up, but a 28-all tie at the half and a 48-47 Roman lead at the end of three, spoke to the even matchup.

The Cahillites won the fourth, 23-17, thanks in part to an 11-for-13 effort from the foul line, and a concerted defensive effort.

"When I'm playing my best, I'm definitely playing both sides of the court, getting after it defensively," London said. "And I think that basically jump-starts my game."

As a team, Roman held N-G's star guard Ja'Quan Newton (11 points) to a 4-for-19 night. At one point, the Miami signee missed seven straight shots before burying a three (2-for-8) late in the fourth.

"We basically just tried to make sure we kept him out of the paint and force him to shoot jump shots," London said.

Junior guard Lamarr "Fresh" Kimble carried the load for N-G with 26 points on 10 of 19 shooting. He hit two threes and was 4-for-5 at the line. Troy Harper, a senior guard, added 14 points. Senior forward Tony Toplyn snared nine rebounds and blocked three shots.

For Roman, sophomore Tony Carr played beyond his years. The 6-1 point guard called a heady timeout with 2:43 remaining to narrowly avoid a 5-second violation with the Cahillites ahead, 57-55. A London slash-and-dash for two followed.

"He was way more composed than me as a sophomore," London said. Carr finished with 15 points, seven rebounds and six assists.

Perhaps fittingly, London, Carr and Garner sealed the game with six straight free throws with less than 30 seconds to play. Garner (14 points, 7-for-8 from the line), knocked his down before some good-natured jawing with N-G's Kimble.

"I told you," Garner said. "I told you."

The Penn State signee said the two are good friends and exchanged predictions leading up to the game.

Perspective was apparent after.

"We can't hang our hats on this game," Garner said. London, a Mount Airy resident, wasn't far behind.

"It feels good," he said. "But at the same time, I'm just trying to be humble. As far as the game, I'm like, 'all right, we won, but it's not the championship or anything.' "