Holy Ghost Prep slows it down in second half to get past Bristol in BAL quarterfinal

BENSALEM — At halftime, trailing Bristol, 30-29 after the Warriors finished a shooting clinic in the second period, one in which they poured five three-pointers into the basket including three by sophomore Parker Kelley, the Holy Ghost seniors realized one thing.

No matter what happened in the second half of last night’s BAL Tournament quarterfinal matchup, this was their last game in Chapman Gym.

“At halftime, we realized this was our last game here,’ explained HGP senior Tim Brennan. “We all said ‘we can’t lose our last game at Chapman Arena.’ It was a big realization.’

The Firebirds came out after the break and completely dominated the Warriors in the last two periods, outscoring the visitors 41-18 after the intermission for a 70-48 victory that puts them in a BAL semifinal Friday night (Feb. 13) against top-seeded Lower Moreland. Phil-Mont Christian will host Church Farm School in the other semifinal and the winners will play for the championship 6:30 p.m. Saturday night at Holy Family College.

Leading at the half by the slimmest of margins, Bristol (12-11, 8-6: BAL) came out after the intermission and hit two more treys, one each by junior Deonte Harris and senior Aidan Coughlin to take a brief 38-35 lead. That’s when HGP senior Michael Kirby stepped in, intercepting a long inbounds pass from Harris then taking the ball the length of the court for an easy layup. A moment later, he went around big Devon Adams to put Ghost on top 39-38 and the ‘birds never trailed again.

“He definitely gave us a little spark that we needed,’ said Brennan, of Kirby’s effort. “He knew he had a little mismatch on the kid. He’s a little quicker than (Adams) so he used that to take advantage of him.’

“He’s an energizer,’ added HGP head coach Tony Chapman. “He’s very competitive and very confident. And they were good decisions on those plays.”