They were simply too good.
When it was all said and done, that pretty much sums up Ss. John Neumann-Maria Goretti’s 57-44 Catholic League boys’ basketball championship victory over St. Joseph’s Prep Saturday, March 5 at a sold-out LaSalle University.
The Saints’ triumph was picture-perfect, as was their playoff run. After beating Roman Catholic by 20 points and Northern Division champion Archbishop Wood by 17, Neumann-Goretti, in its initial year after merging the former St. John Neumann boys’ school with the St. Maria Goretti girls’ school, turned its sights on a Prep team that had split the two-game, regular-season series, and then won a coin toss to determine the Southern Division champion.
As it turns out, a 55-53 loss at the Prep on Feb. 20, coupled by the unlucky coin flip, seemed to be precisely what the Saints needed.
“It’s hard to take something good out of losing, but looking back, we were reminded that we can lose, and that we can’t take any team lightly,” said Dave Burton, the only senior starter on a squad that is now 25-2 heading into the prestigious Alhambra Tournament in Maryland two weekends from now.
“Losing got us focused again.”
N-G led 15-12 after one quarter and 32-24 at halftime. Although the Saints owned a decent-sized lead, coach Carl Arrigale was far from smiling in the locker room.
“Coach came in and told us that we didn’t do anything yet,” said senior guard Conor Kennedy. “There were 16 minutes left. There was still a ton of work to do. We weren’t going to let down and let them get back in the game.”
Not surprisingly, the two-time defending champion Hawks (25-3) somehow found a way to stay close. When brilliant junior Southern Division Most Valuable Player Reggie Redding (23 points, 10 rebounds) drove inside for a basket, the Prep trailed by only 38-31.
Then came what was to be a decisive moment in the game.
Although he had done a magnificent job of shadowing Prep senior and standout point guard Joe Fox defensively, Kennedy had left the scoring to Burton (12 points), junior Earl Pettis (15), sophomore Antonio Jardine (15), and junior Derrick Rivera (10). But when he was left open at the top of the key, Kennedy reached back and fired a three-point swish that gave N-G a 41-31 lead.
The basket revved up the N-G crowd and silenced the Prep fans. Kennedy drew an offensive foul a few seconds later, before punctuating a brilliant two-minute stretch with an assist on Rivera’s three-point bomb at the third-quarter buzzer.
Neumann-Goretti raced off the court into the arms of the coaching staff and bench players. Prep players lumbered uncharacteristically to their end of the court. Down 46-33, it would take a miracle for the Hawks to win their third straight title, and deep down, they knew the outcome was already determined.
In the final stanza, N-G continued to pressure the Hawks and play intelligent ball. The Saints’ shot selection was rarely forced, and when they increased their lead to 50-36 with less than five minutes left, they started a game of keepaway before the final seconds concluded with N-G’s delirious fans storming the court.
For Kennedy, it was a surreal end to a high school career that might segue into a Division III college experience. A product of Our Lady of Angels grade school (along with N-G teammate Phil Love), Kennedy’s former career hoops highlights had been two CYO Region 6 championships during seventh and eighth grades.
Consider those titles trumped.
“It’s just starting to sink in,” Kennedy said. “It seems like it didn’t happen, but it did. It’s so great to be a part of the school’s first championship. We had a great pep rally on Friday, and everybody was so into it. It took a little bit of time, but everybody is cool about the school being Neumann-Goretti. This championship makes it that much better.”
Arrigale, who won two titles at Neumann in 2001 and 2002, raved about the guy whom many Saints cited as the best practice player on the team.
“He has given me everything I’ve asked of him and more,” said Arrigale. “He’s one of the best kids to have participated in the program. He does so many things, and all year long he has gotten better and better.”
Added Pettis: “I love Conor. Whenever we needed a big play, or a big stop, he made one. He makes more hustle plays than anyone.”
Among those impressed with the Saints was Prep coach Speedy Morris.
“They played terrific,” he said. “Give them credit. They didn’t take bad shots, and they made most of the ones they took. They’re right up there with some of the best teams this league has had, and they deserve to be champs.”
Indeed. The Saints were simply too good.
Next Week: Coverage of Cardinal O’Hara’s Catholic League girls’ basketball championship victory over Archbishop Carroll.
(Do you have any comments or tips for future articles? Send email to jknebels@comcast.net.)
Our Mother of Consolation CYO JV girls basketball team wins regional championship
On Saturday, March 5, Our Mother of Consolation JV girls’ basketball team won the regional championship game by beating Immaculate Heart of Mary with a score of 10 to 9. The leading scorer for the team was sixth-grader Asha Davis, who had 5 points. The team also includes Savannah Davis, Erica Palmer, Margaret Fennimore, Katherine Boyle, Jane Idler, Olivia Dean, Amy Geliebter, Heidi Beyer, Sarah Killian, Kamilah Berrian, Maureen Flynn, Jasmine Guess, Rita Jacquinto, Grace Kelly, Samantha Lewis, Laura Milovsky, Ruby Payette, and Alston Smith. Their coaches are Tracie Upchurch, Gilbert Davis, Larry Guess, and Lisa Jacquinto.
This year, OMC had 19 girls on the team. The team was split into two teams to ensure that everyone had the opportunity to play in each game. Leading up to the championship game, Team 1 finished its regular season with 8 wins, 1 loss, putting it in 2nd place in the region. This allowed Team 1 to advance automatically to the semi-finals. Team 2 finished its season with 4 wins, 5 losses, putting it in 5th place in the region. Both teams advanced to semi-finals, and both games were played Friday, March 4 at St. John the Baptist in Manyunk. Both games went into overtime. Team 1 advanced from the semi-finals to the championship game, and facing IHM, the only team that had defeated it in the regular season.
According to the coaching staff, more important than the championship was the teamwork and improvement on fundamentals that the girls displayed throughout the season. The skills they showed during the playoffs were a vast improvement compared to their level at the beginning of the season. The team camaraderie was exceptional. Kudos go to the girls and their parents for allowing the coaches to teach them. The end result was a Region 5 championship team.