Bishop McDevitt falls to Trinity in PIAA-3A semifinals

READING >> Bishop McDevitt coach Will Chavis could only wonder if the quarterfinal win over Neumann-Goretti three days prior had taken a little too much out the Royal Lancers.

“It’s just one of those things where you beat a really good team and you see it all the time in basketball,” he said. “With kids – even I experienced that in my playing days – is you beat a really good team and you come back and have a letdown.”

McDevitt’s deepest run in the PIAA Tournament came to end Tuesday night at Reading High School’s Geigle Complex as District 3 champ Trinity took control of a tightly-contested Class 3A boys basketball semifinal early in the fourth quarter then held on the best the Lancers 63-56.

“They were a tough team, they made open shots, took care of the ball, played smart and we just fell short,” McDevitt senior Seneca Willoughby said.

After falling behind 11-2, Bishop McDevitt ran off then next 14 points and held the lead until third when a 7-0 run put the Shamrocks up 41-38.

The Lancers pulled within 43-42 at the end of the third and were within one again in the fourth at 45-44 but a 10-4 Trinity burst increased its lead by seven.

McDevitt cut the margin to two at 55-53 on a Jamil Manigo basket but freshman Chance Westry answered on the other end and the Shamrocks connected on enough free throws to seal the win.

“Trinity is a good team, they play like they wanted that game,” Chavis said. “We shot the ball horrible, I mean we missed seven free throws, we shot 1-for-16 from three and we shot under 50 percent from the field so I mean that’s something that we have to work on to get better.”

Shamir Mosley paced McDevitt with 14 points while Manigo added 12 points for the Royal Lancers, who ended a breakthrough season with a 21-8 record.

“This is a great group of kids that we have at McDevitt,” Chavis said. “The stuff they accomplished this year for the school is groundbreaking. We can only look forward to what we have in the future.”

Bishop McDevitt reached its first Philadelphia Catholic League semifinals since 1989 and with its state quarters win over PCL rival and five-time defending 3A champ Neumann-Goretti advanced the PIAA semis for the first time ever.

“I’m proud of us,” Willoughby said. “We could of went farther and won. But we fell short and for the young guys I hope for the best and keep working.”

Westry scored a game-high 22 points as Trinity earned its first trip to the PIAA final since 2004. Saturday, the Shamrocks face District 7 champ Lincoln Park, a 67-58 winner over District 10 champ Sharon in the other semifinal at New Castle High School.

Patrick Walker finished with 17 points for Trinity (26-3) while Marcus Becket chipped in eight of 11 points in the second half.

Bishop McDevitt started the second half with a 30-28 edge but could only push the advantage up to four, the last time at 38-34 on a Manigo basket. However, Manigo would pick up a fourth foul at 3:06 in third as Trinity was stitching together a 7-0 run capped by Beckett’s 3-pointer for a 41-38 Shamrocks lead.

Robert’s Smith last-second basket off an offensive rebound had McDevitt within 43-42 at the end of the third. The Lancers were down just a point again at 45-44 on a Mosley bucket but a Beckett jumper and Matt Long Triple pushed Trinity’s lead to 50-44.

“When you think about it, they stepped up and made plays and we didn’t,” Chavis said. “So that was a huge part of them having success.

Two from Beckett put the Shamrocks up 55-48 before the Lancers made a charge with five straight points – Manigo scoring inside to get McDevitt within 55-53. But Westry answered, corralling a deflected ball and hitting a double-clutch floater for a four-point lead.

After Walker blocked a McDevitt 3-point try from the corner, the Shamrocks came close to throwing the ball out of bounds on their baseline. But Long saved it with an over-the head heave that found Walker, who made both ends of a 1-and-1 with 1:20 left for a 59-53 advantage.

A Long free throw had Trinity ahead seven with 52.6 seconds to go. Willoughby hit McDevitt’s lone three of the night to make it 60-56,however Westry went 3-of-4 from the line to clinch Trinity’s spot in Hershey.

The Shamrocks got off to a quick start, as Walker’s jumper off an inbounds has Trinity up 11-2. But Bishop McDevitt began to connect on some shots and put its press to use creating turnovers. The Lancers scored the next 14 points – six from Mosely, the last on his free throw at 45.1 seconds for a 16-11 lead.

“We came out with energy because we recognized we were down,” Willoughby said. “And I think over the course of the game we lost our energy cause we were close and we just played down to our potential.”

Walker’s three-point play at 31.2 seconds made it 16-14 but a Harris buzzer-beater gave McDevitt an 18-14 edge after eight minutes.

The Royal Lancers extended their lead to six three times in the second quarter, the last time at 30-24 before Trinity scored the final four points of the half – Westry’s two free throws at 1:23 making it 30-28.