Roman advances to Catholic boys' hoops semis by nipping St. Joe's Prep
Kyle Thompson's free-throw try with seven-tenths of a second remaining was about to fall softly through the net and give St. Joseph's Prep a crack at beating Roman Catholic in overtime for the second time in the last week.
Kyle Thompson's free-throw try with seven-tenths of a second remaining was about to fall softly through the net and give St. Joseph's Prep a crack at beating Roman Catholic in overtime for the second time in the last week.
But the ball rimmed out, was grabbed by Seth Lundy, and the Cahillites escaped the heartbroken Hawks, 56-55, in Friday night's Catholic League playoff quarterfinal at packed Philadelphia University.
Afterward, outside Roman's locker room, Cahillites coach Matt Griffin, who played at the Prep and was an assistant the last two seasons under Hawks coach Speedy Morris, tried to console each departing Prep player.
Chris Kuhar's right-side layup, his first bucket of the night, gave Roman a 56-54 advantage with 4.8 seconds to go. As the Hawks were hurrying the ball up the court for a final shot, Thompson was fouled.
Thompson, who went 8 for 12 from the line in the final stanza, calmly buried the first of his two freebies.
"That's a tough spot for him to be in," Roman's J.P. Sanders said. "The game is on the line, and all eyes are on you. So that's a lot of pressure."
The Cahillites, who are aiming for a third straight Catholic League title, will take on Neumann-Goretti in a semifinal at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday at the Palestra. That will be followed by a semifinal clash between Archbishop Wood and Archbishop Ryan.
"It's great to make it back to the Palestra," Sanders said. "We did not want to lose to the Prep for a second time. We wanted this game badly."
Sanders, a 6-1 senior wing guard, produced eight of his 12 points in the first half. He added four rebounds and three assists.
"He's a warrior," Griffin said. "He's played defense on the other team's best player all year long."
Down by 40-30 midway through the third quarter, the Hawks responded with an 11-4 spurt to cut the gap to 44-41 entering the fourth. They went in front, 51-50, on Thompson's two free throws with 2 minutes, 37 seconds remaining.
Allen Betrand paced Roman (19-4) with 17 points, six boards and two steals. Da'kQuan Davis (10 points, four assists), Lundy (eight fourth-quarter points, seven boards) and Lynn Greer III (seven points, five assists) also played key roles.
Thompson sparked the Prep (15-8) with 21 points, including three three-pointers; Edward Croswell was next in line with 14 points and nine boards; and Darius Kinnel managed 10 points and seven assists.
St. Joseph's Prep 16 9 16 14 - 55
Roman Catholic 17 14 13 12 - 56
SJP: Darius Kinnel 10, Kyle Thompson 21, Edward Croswell 14, Gabe Arizin 3, Brian Griffin 7.
RC: Lynn Greer III 7, Da'kQuan Davis 10, Seth Lundy 8, Allen Betrand 17, J.P. Sanders, 12, Chris Kuhar 2.
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