Lundy lays down law as Roman Catholic wins thriller over Archbishop Carroll

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RADNOR >> The watch word uttered Friday from the Archbishop Carroll huddle, and reiterated by Luke House after the game, was “resilient.”

For most of the game, save for a slice of the end of the second quarter and start of the third, the Patriots played catch-up against Roman Catholic. But when Carroll fell behind by six in the fourth quarter on two different occasions, it twice summoned the resilience to get back on level terms.

Archbishop Carroll’s Keyon Butler (1) puts up a shot in the first half against Roman Catholic Friday night. The Patriots came up on the short end of a 70-66 score. (Digital First Media/Pete Bannan)

In that department, however, Roman Catholic fared just a little better on the evening.

Lynn Greer III’s running layup with 37 seconds left was the final say in a 70-66 Catholic League thriller, one where Roman executed just one play more than the hosts.

The reason, by and large, was Seth Lundy. The junior wing scored a season-high 30 points, needing just 15 field goal attempts. He was 8-for-8 from the free-throw line on an evening where the Cahillites (10-5, 5-2) were a perfect 17-for-17 at the charity stripe.

And if you’re looking for a dose of resilience, look no further than what Lundy summoned at 4:18 of the fourth. Roman had gone up 56-50, but three consecutive times coughed the ball up. Justin Anderson’s pull-up jumper capped a 6-0 run that got Carroll back on even footing.

But Lundy, who admitted he was “feeling it” from the warmups on, wasted no time on the next trip down the court, rising over a defender from the left wing for a 3-pointer that hit nothing but net.

“When we were up six, I feel like we got a little too comfortable,” Lundy said. “… I came down, knew we had to score quickly and time was running out. And I was just feeling it all night, so I knew the shot was going to go in.”

Roman’s free-throw perfection positioned it to close out the game, amassing a 66-60 lead with two minutes left. But House, who scored nine of his 16 points in the fourth, absorbed a foul and made the free throw after a layup to halve the spread. The next trip, after another Roman turnover, House freed himself on the left wing to knock down a 3 with 1:06 left and tie the game at 66.

“We just kept playing hard, and they kept scoring,” House said. “We just needed to score, and my teammates got me the ball. I knew I had to score, so I scored.”

Greer’s runner tipped Roman ahead, and Carroll got two looks — a missed Anderson foul-line jumper and a strip of Keyon Butler after the Patriots had tied up Allen Bertrand for a jump ball — in a hectic final minute. But two Greer free throws sealed the Roman win.

The teams went back and forth all night, with Carroll (11-5, 5-2) behind or even most of the way. Lundy had 15 points in the first half, but Carroll closed on a 10-4 spurt to take a 33-30 lead at the break. Anderson supplied 11 of his 17 points in the second quarter.

In a second half that featured seven ties, Carroll would lead for the last time on Devon Ferrero’s only bucket, at 39-37. Roman got a boost from Hakim Hart, who was silent for the first three quarters but hit a pair of 3-pointers to start the fourth to dial up the 56-50 edge.

“That’s just showing that he can be able to shoot whenever he wants,” Lundy said of Hart. “He could come off the bench and knock down 3s, and that’s big for us. Last year, we struggled for shooting 3s. This year … we’ve got five guys on the court that can shoot the 3-ball.”

Greer finished with 19 points. Bertrand shook off a sluggish shooting night to tally nine points plus seven rebounds and three steals.

Archbishop Carroll’s Luke House lays up and in for two points during Friday’s loss to Roman Catholic. (Digital First Media/Pete Bannan)

AJ Hoggard led Carroll with 19 points and eight assists. Butler added 12 points and a team-high six boards.
Carroll has navigated the majority of the Catholic League’s sternest tests, though the most pertinent ones for its PIAA tournament aspirations — fellow 5A teams Archbishop Wood and Bonner & Prendergast — remain ahead. That’s why, during and after the Friday’s game, coach Paul Romanczuk stressed the need to bounce back quickly. And four quarters of basketball that were good, if not good enough, could aid that.

“We can definitely learn from it,” House said. “Close games, you can learn from them because we can’t keep losing these close games. We just have to keep fighting back.”

Also in the Catholic League:

Bonner & Prendergast 73, Father Judge 58 >> Isaiah Wong scored 24 points as the Friars (14-3, 7-1) rebounded from their first league loss Wednesday in resounding fashion.

Mike Perretta drained five 3-pointers for 15 points, Ajiri Johnson added a dozen and Tariq Ingraham had 10 for Bonner.

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Matthew De George

Matthew De George
Matthew De George is the Asst. Sports Editor and the lead Union writer for The Daily Times.

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