Roman Catholic takes down Archbishop Carroll in PCL Semifinals
PHILADELPHIA >> Roman Catholic head coach Chris McNesby and his guys had been battle-tested before.
Whether it was the Cahillites’ 13-point loss to Archbishop Carroll in early January, or when they lost key defender Nazeer Bostick for a stretch early in the season, there have been plenty of key moments for the team to band together.
“I’d go to war with my guys any day of the week,” said McNesby. And on Wednesday night, Roman Catholic survived a seesaw battle where neither team could pull away, in the end taking a 64-63 win over Archbishop Carroll to advance to the Philadelphia Catholic League Championship game for the third consecutive season.
“It was back and forth the entire way,” said McNesby. “Down the stretch, our guys stayed tough and never let up. For us, this was a good, hard fought win. I’m proud of these guys and how they’ve grown and as a team and how they’ve developed as young men.”
Senior guard Tony Carr was electric for Roman in the win, knocking down four 3-pointers en route to a game-high 24 points.
“It feels even better than last year,” said Carr of returning to the championship game. “I’m the leader on this team –I know my teammates rely on me. So down the stretch, I know it’s up to me.
“To fight back with your brothers after being down early – it’s great to come out with a win.”
Roman Catholic will look to sharpen its swords and prepare for the championship game, a rematch of the previous two title bouts versus Neumann-Goretti on Monday back at The Palestra.
Senior defender Bostick was daunted the task of covering Archbishop Carroll senior guard Ryan Daly.
And that battle didn’t disappoint.
Daly exploded out of the gate, scoring 15 of Carroll’s 36 first-half points including three long-balls to take a 36-33 lead into the half.
However, in the second half, Bostick limited the PCL MVP to just six points.
“We really challenged Nazaar (Bostick) to step up and guard him,” said McNesby of his team’s defense against Daly. “Ryan is a really good guard who can beat you in so many ways. He’s got a lot of intangibles, and he just keeps working.”
The final play of the game served as a perfect tribute. Daly secured the loose ball out by the perimeter and put up a prayer in the face of Bostick. As the ball clanged off the rim and bounced up court, the buzzer sounded to secure Roman Catholic its third consecutive appearance in the title game.
Offensively, Bostick added 14 points while first-year Cahillite Lamar Stevens poured in 13 points, including a monstrous dunk with 1:49 left to give the Roman crowd even more to scream about.
“The atmosphere was crazy right from the get-go,” said Stevens, who transferred from the Haverford School for his senior season. “It was a much different experience from the Inter-Ac, but it was special. This one is something I won’t forget.
“I wanted to get the team riled up,” he said of his dunk, “it let them know we’re here and we’re bringing the energy. I felt like that dunk was gonna bring everybody to life.”
Carroll guard John Rigsby had 16 points and point guard Josh Sharkey added 15, including a layup as the clock expired in the third quarter to take a two-point lead.
Carroll jumped out to a 12-2 lead and looked to be in control while Roman Catholic looked out of sorts from the start. But the Cahillites went on an 11-3 run, capped by a pair of free throws from Stevens to eventually carry an 18-17 lead into the second quarter. Junior forward Paul Newman scored all seven of his points in the opening eight minutes.
With the title game on the line Monday, McNesby hopes his players will keep their killer instinct versus an always-powerful Neumann-Goretti team.
“This is going to be a war,” he said.
