NEWTON — Dating all the way in which again to his days as a youth basketball participant, Jose Padilla had all the time dreamed of constructing the massive play at Newton North’s annual vacation event. Due to extenuating circumstances, nevertheless, he and his teammates had by no means actually been ready to soak up the complete expertise.
On Thursday, the Tigers had their alternative to host the Garden City championship in entrance of a packed home, and Padilla seized benefit of the second. The senior captain drilled a game-ending three-pointer on the buzzer, ending with 23 factors as Newton North captured the title with an unforgettable 61-58 additional time victory over Catholic Memorial.
“That was a classic,” mentioned Newton North coach Paul Connolly. “Overtime game, we jumped out. They came back. It came down to the end, and wow, Jose Padilla, man. I’ve been saying it, if he’s not the best guard for us ever, he’s one of the top players in the state. He makes plays like that. He’s been doing it over and over. He’s a great leader in our school. He’s just a solid, solid kid and a great player. So, no surprise with how hard he works, that that shot goes in. That was a classic high school basketball game.”
Most had been tapping Thursday night time’s title sport as a preview as to what Massachusetts highschool basketball followers may very well be anticipating in March, and it delivered with flying colours. As famous by Connolly, Newton North (5-0) managed the tempo early, taking a 14-6 lead into the second quarter.
However, Catholic Memorial responded. The Knights opened the following stanza on a 17-9 run, as Ryan Higgins knocked down a triple to even the rating at 23-all with 3:02 left within the first half. From that time on, the packages traded punches till the top of regulation.
Down two with solely seconds remaining, Catholic Memorial discovered itself in want of a desperation bucket. Higgins got here by way of within the clutch with a layup to tie the sport at 54-all, forcing the additional time session.
The packages had gone forwards and backwards all night time, and that continued till the waning moments, when Catholic Memorial’s Matthew St. Martin stepped to the free throw line, needing to hit each photographs to increase the sport. The junior succeeded, tying the sport as soon as once more at 58-58 with 4.2 seconds left.
But that was on a regular basis the Tigers wanted. Will Davis fired an inbounds move to Padilla. The senior proceeded to dash coast-to-coast, firing up an off-balance prayer on the horn. The shot fell, sending followers into pandemonium.
Padilla scored 16 of his 23 factors within the second half, whereas Davis completed with a double-double (12 factors, 12 rebounds) to propel the Tigers.
Malachi Bryant had 18 factors to steer Catholic Memorial.
“I saw four seconds on the clock,” Padilla mentioned afterward. “I wanted the ball. I wanted to shoot the shot. (At the end) of the fourth, I missed the shot to end the game, but I wanted to shoot it (again). They gave me space, I shot it and it went in. It was a great game. They’re a very good team, (there was) good energy in the gym. It was definitely a good environment.”
Source: www.bostonherald.com