Betrand put-back sends Roman boys over Bonner-Prendie, 54-53
Thomas "Hockey Puck" McKenna furrowed his brow before Roman Catholic took on host Bonner-Prendergast in Catholic League action Friday night.
Thomas "Hockey Puck" McKenna furrowed his brow before Roman Catholic took on host Bonner-Prendergast in Catholic League action Friday night.
The longtime Roman assistant was reminded that the host Friars hadn't beaten the Cahillites since 2002 when he squinted behind black-framed glasses.
"You got to remind me of that right now?!" McKenna said with a scowl.
Alas, thanks to Allen Betrand's put-back with 2.6 seconds remaining, all threats of a jinx were held at bay.
The Cahillites, who overcame a four-point deficit in the final 30 seconds, survived the Friars, 54-53.
"This was a good win," said Betrand, who finished with 23 points. "We stayed together, and we never gave up. That's what we're all about, never giving up."
The Friars nearly made the Cahillites (13-2, 5-1) submit early in the third quarter after junior forward Ajiri Johnson ripped an emphatic, two-handed dunk through the rim for an eight-point lead with 5 minutes, 30 seconds left in the quarter.
The Bonner-Prendie crowd was loud and rowdy, but Roman found poise from sophomore Seth Lundy.
The 6-foot-6 forward scored nine of his 22 points in the fourth quarter, including a critical three-pointer from straight away that cut a four-point B-P lead to a sliver with just 18.4 seconds left.
"Kid never stops playing," said first-year Roman coach Matt Griffin. "Whatever role you need him to play at whatever time, he'll do it. Scary part is he's only a sophomore."
The Cahillites nearly forced a turnover on the ensuing B-P possession after J.P. Sanders forced a jump ball.
The possession arrow, however, favored the Friars.
With 11.3 seconds left, B-P missed the front end of the ensuing one-and-one free-throw attempt, which led to Lynn Greer III's pushing the tempo and missing a floater.
Betrand, who transferred from Samuel Fels, got position and tipped in the winner, which looked more like a two-handed volleyball set piece.
"I just saw Lynn drive to the hole and Ajiri leave the paint," Betrand said. "Nobody boxed me out, so I snuck in there and got the tip."
Roman survived despite getting zero points from its bench. B-P got six from its reserves.
"Early in the season we were rushing shots," Betrand said. "As we've gone along, we've learned to stay composed. Our seniors Da'Kquan Davis and J.P. Sanders kept us together."
The Friars (12-3, 4-2) were led by Justin Gans, who finished with 16 points and eight rebounds.
Christian Lane added 15 points, while Tymir Cooper finished with nine points and five rebounds.
Johnson grabbed a rebound and stuffed in the putback to give the Friars a two-point edge with 1:12 left.
The Friars last beat Roman during the 2002 season when then-Monsignor Bonner twice beat the Cahillites and were led by Matt Kearney and Badir McCleary, according to TedSilary.com.
Roman Catholic 18 9 10 17 - 54
Bonner-Prendie 15 14 12 12 - 53
RC: Da'Kquan Davis 3, Allen Betrand 23, Lynn Greer 4, Seth Lundy 22, JP Sanders 2.
B-P: Christian Lane 15, Tymir Cooper 9, , Ajiri Johnson 4, Dylan Higgans 3, Justin Gans 16, Steve Perretta 4, Donovan Rodriguez 2.
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