Cathedral boys basketball coach Jamall Griffin emphasised the necessity for a troublesome problem as he and his employees ready for the season just a few months again. Despite having one of many youngest varsity rosters (10 underclassmen) within the MIAA ranks, the Panthers proceeded to play one of many hardest schedules within the Commonwealth.
It grew to become clear Monday why they opted to place themselves in such a place. Anthony Vick (16 factors) drilled the eventual game-winning three-pointer within the closing seconds of regulation as eighth-seeded Cathedral erased a 10-point fourth quarter deficit en path to beating No. 9 Manchester-Essex, 50-47, within the Div. 4 Round of 16.
“We played a tough schedule,” stated Griffin. “All those moments and all those losses have prepared us for tonight. So, when we were down, we said: ‘We’ve been here before.’ We just played one possession at a time.”
The sport obtained off to a gradual begin, with each packages struggling to discover a rhythm. Then junior standout Cade Furse caught hearth for the Hornets (18-4), racking up 9 factors to go along with 5 steals over the primary two quarters as Manchester-Essex constructed a cushty 28-17 benefit by the break.
Yet for some purpose or one other, it simply by no means felt as if the Panthers (12-10) had been fully out of it.
“We just kept playing together, kept working,” Vick stated. “We were down early in the first half. We talked at halftime, knowing that we had to keep fighting, keep going.”
Cathedral started implementing a full-court press throughout the second quarter, and determined to maintain it rolling to start out the third. The Panthers trimmed their deficit as shut as 30-27 halfway via the body, earlier than Manchester-Essex capped the stanza on a 10-3 scoring run to make it a 40-30 sport coming into the fourth.
Then, Cathedral started to mount its comeback. The Panthers opened the quarter on a 5-0 run to slice it again to a 40-35 sport. With 4:11 left, Vick knocked down a game-tying three as Cathedral evened the rating at 42.
After Brennan Twombly hit 1-of-2 free throws to offer Manchester Essex a 47-45 lead with 43.1 seconds remaining, the groups traded possessions because the followers roared. Following a wild sequence, the Panthers gained management of the ball, and Vick quickly discovered himself standing with the rock alone within the nook with just below 20 seconds to play.
He pulled up and unleashed an important shot of his life. Cathedral had seized its first lead of the evening at 48-47.
“A lot of emotions were going through my head,” stated Vick. “I knew if I missed, we’d have to foul. But thank God I made it, and we came out with the win.”
The Hornets had just a few alternatives to tie the sport or take the lead on their subsequent few possessions. Twombly missed a pair of free throws, however the ball skipped off a Cathedral participant and out of bounds with 6.5 seconds remaining. The Hornets fed a go to Furse for a contested triple, however the shot rimmed out, and Manchester-Essex was pressured to foul.
With 2.7 seconds left, eighth-grader Jeremiah Brown stepped to the free throw stripe, sinking a pair to make it a 50-47 contest. The Hornets frantically inbounded the ball to Furse, who launched a prayer from midcourt.
“I was nervous,” stated Vick. “Because that kid can shoot. Props to him, he can shoot the ball very well. So when he let that off, I was nervous. I thought it was going in.”
But he ball fell harmlessly to the ground, and the Panthers stormed the court docket in pandemonium.
In addition to Vick’s heroics, sophomore Kyle Benjamin completed with a team-high 18 factors to tempo Cathedral, whereas senior Ali Saleh racked up 10 rebounds for the Panthers.
“This young group really stepped up,” stated Griffin. “They grew up tonight. I’m very proud of them. The Cathedral School, the community, Boston, everyone came out and supported. This was a great night for Boston basketball, not just Cathedral.”
Source: www.bostonherald.com