Lansdale Catholic tops Bishop McDevitt in OT for 1st PCL win

CHELTENHAM >> The end result was guaranteed Wednesday night — either Lansdale Catholic or Bishop McDevitt was coming away with its first Philadelphia Catholic League victory of the season.

It just took a little while longer than usual to figure it out.

The visiting Crusaders were seconds away from a win in regulation, but Cameron Gardner knocked down a 3 from the corner to force overtime. LC, however, did not wilt after the late letdown, instead scored the first four points of the extra period and broke through in the PCL by besting the Royal Lancers 58-54.

“We’re getting better and this is proof,” Lansdale Catholic boys basketball coach Joe Corbett said. “This would have been a tough one to come to back into practice tomorrow, but the way they responded, I’m proud of them.

“And hey, let’s try to get two in a row, right? Who knows, get a little confidence going, Bonner’s a great team, but let’s see what we can do (Friday).”

BOYS #HOOPS: @McDbball's Cameron Gardner hits a last-second 3 to tie Lansdale Catholic 49-49 & send the game to OT. pic.twitter.com/GsI3bTqvYM

— Mike Cabrey (@mpcabrey) January 28, 2016

Dan Modestine scored 11 of his team-high 13 points in the second half for the Crusaders (3-15, 1-8 league), who snapped a 10-game losing streak and claimed their first win of 2016. LC’s last win came Dec. 28 against Sun Valley at Garnet Valley’s Varsity Club Holiday Tournament.

“A win’s a win,” Modestine said. “So, I’m happy about that. Our team’s happy about that.”

The Crusaders led 49-46 when Mike Ottomano made both ends of a 1-and-1 with 16.8 seconds left, but Da’Quine Williams hurried up the court and rifled and pass to Gardner, the freshman burying a trey from the right corner.

LC got a chance to go ahead just before the buzzer, however Ryan Braun’s baseline jumper was off-target and the ball bounced out of bounds as the clock hit zeroes, sending the contest to OT.

Ottomano started scoring in the extra session with a jumper, while Modestine scored after a steal for a 53-49 Crusader advantage. A Williams’ jumper got the Royal Lancers within two, but Ty Grant banked in a shot to give LC back the four-point edge.

“I thought the way we came out in the overtime, we came into the huddle, we were deflated, but we hung together,” Corbett said. “I think we scored the first four, five points of the overtime and that really set the pace for the rest of the period.”

Lansdale Catholic used free throws to extend its lead to 58-51 with 22.1 seconds left before a Quentin Beasley putback cut the margin to five. Jack Bridges was fouled at 4.8 seconds, made his first free throw, and while McDevitt 3-15, 0-9) rebounded the miss on the second, the Lancers proceeded to come up empty on two tries inside and time ran out.

The win stopped a 12-game PCL skid for the Crusaders, who last picked up a victory in PCL play by defeating McDevitt 80-46 on Jan. 25, 2015.

“It feels great,” Modestine said. “I wish we had more (wins), but we’re still working hard. We’re working on beating Bonner and the rest of the teams we have on our schedule.”

BOYS #HOOPS: Ty Grant banks in a shot to give @boys_lc a 55-51 lead over Bishop McDevitt in OT. pic.twitter.com/PWQTxoKHam

— Mike Cabrey (@mpcabrey) January 28, 2016

Malik Heyward paced Bishop McDevitt with 15 points. Jaron Macon collected 13 points while Gardner scored all 11 of his points in the second half. Heyward and Macon each connected on three 3-pointers.

Wednesday’s matchup featured six ties and 13 lead changes. The largest lead in the third and fourth quarters was just four points.

“Any win in this league is a good win, especially on the road,” Corbett said. “They’re a good team. They’re looking for their first (PCL) win just like we were. We’re battling each other. It feels good to finally get one for those guys, those guys come in every day and work hard.”

Lansdale Catholic tries for back-to-back win 4:30 p.m. Friday when it hosts Bonner-Prendergast. McDevitt, meanwhile, tries end a seven-game skid and a 12-game PCL losing streak at home against Cardinal O’Hara 7 p.m. Friday.

The Royal Lancers’ last lead came 22 seconds into the fourth quarter as Macon was fouled taking and three and made all three at the line, putting McDevitt ahead 40-39.

Matthew Mandarano’s three from the top of the arc had LC back up 42-40 while Modestine found Braun in transition for a basket and a four-point edge.

BOYS #BASKETBALL: @boys_lc's Matthew Mandarano hits a 3 for a 42-40 lead 42-40 4Q vs. Bishop McDevitt. pic.twitter.com/UG5cAKLmX1

— Mike Cabrey (@mpcabrey) January 28, 2016

McDevitt pulled within two twice — the last at 44-42 — but a Lancer offensive foul gave LC the ball with 44.7 remaining. Modestine made the front end of 1-and-1 at 39.6 seconds. Gardner scoring inside for McDevitt’s first field goal of the quarter to make it 47-46.

Ottomano’s two foul shots made the margin three again at 16.2 only for Gardner’s clutch trey to force four more minutes of action.

Bishop McDevitt led 15-9 after a quarter and was up 18-11 in the second quarter before LC’s 9-2 run tied the game 20-20 after two Noah Saba free throws at 3:16. But a Macon corner three and two foul shots from Chris Moore made it 25-20 McDevitt, which went into halftime leading 26-23.

A Heyward triple put the Lancers up 37-35 in the third before LC ended the quarter with four straight points — Grant making a pair at the line with 13.6 seconds for a 37-35 advantage.