Cunane, Hicks help Lansdale Catholic rally past Souderton
FRANCONIA >> At the start of the fourth quarter, Tim Cunane and Jay Hicks didn’t seem like they’d play a big factor in the final outcome.
Cunane, a senior guard on Lansdale Catholic’s boys basketball team, wasn’t feeling too hot and ended up throwing up on the bench during a timeout in the quarter. Hicks, a junior guard, was saddled with four fouls and just one whistle from being out of the game completely.
Go figure, they combined for some of the game’s biggest plays as LC topped host Souderton 49-41 in the first round of the Jim Church Classic on Friday night.
“Our crowd was into it, that helped a lot,” Cunane, who had eight of his 15 points in the final frame, said. “I was throwing up on the sideline at one point, I felt a lot better after that but our crowd and their energy definitely helped.”
Hicks led LC with 20 point, notching 11 of them during his fourth quarter run. The athletic lead guard played the entire quarter with four fouls, never picked up a fifth and even managed to pick up three late steals in doing so.
He, along with Cunane, contributed all but four of the Crusaders’ 23 fourth quarter points.
“For me, it’s just playing like I don’t have any fouls,” Hicks said. “We were down when I came in, so I came in with a lot of energy. My goal is just to win.”
LC is the defending Jim Church Classic champion and beat Souderton en route to the trophy last year. On top of that, the teams crossed paths several times this summer in Dock’s summer league and a lot of the guys just know each other through AAU and proximity.
The first half sure reflected it and the game saw three technical fouls called, a lot of celebrating after big shots and both schools’ student sections trading chants all game long. For a season opener, it almost felt like a postseason game. That’s part of the reason LC coach Joe Corbett keeps his team in the field.
“I love the atmosphere, it’s great for our guys and it was a good team win,” Corbett said. “Jay and Tim both did a great job. Tim knocked some shots down, Jay came in with four fouls and stayed aggressive, he got couple steals, converted on the other end and knocked a big three down. That’s great leadership, Tim knocked shots down, took a charge and does all the little things we need.”
Offense was tough for both teams to come by in the first half. LC went up 8-1 and the Indians didn’t make their first field goal until the 1:07 mark of the first quarter. The Crusaders led 19-14 at the half and midway through the third, they were up just 22-16.
The fourth quarter was saved for the heroics, but the third was the start of the show. Souderton’s Sami Chouiraf, who led the Indians with 14 points, hit a pair of 3-pointers around a trey from Jack Towesen as the Indians took their first lead at 33-30.
Cunane answered with a triple to tie it, but Andrew Vince put the hosts back up with his own three as the teams started to one-up each other on the long ball.
“Our energy just boosted,” Cunane said. “I thought we played with a lot of energy, a lot of heart and just played well.”
Trailing 30-26 to start the final frame, Cunane scored five straight, giving LC a 31-30 lead on a right wing 3-pointer with 7:02 left. Chouiraf, who buried four treys, hit one to stick Souderton back in front and after Cunane knotted it 33-33 with a pair of foul shots, Kyle Walker hit an absurd fallaway three with a hand in his face to put the Indians back up 36-33.
At this point, Hicks really turned things up. His steal and layup pulled LC within a point at 36-35, then Kyle Kane’s driving score put the Crusaders up 37-36 with 3:27 left and they wouldn’t trail again.
“We started attacking more,” Hicks said. “When they collapsed, we just kicked it out. Tim had some threes, I had a three coming off a pick and defensively, we scored off steals, I think had two steals that turned into four points.
“If you think about it, that’s when you’re going to get the foul. So I wasn’t thinking about it, I was just trying to win.”
Hicks’ trey with 2:39 left gave LC a five-point lead and a minute later, Cunane made another game-changing play when he stepped in front of Mekhi Williams and drew the charge for an offensive foul.
“Our coach always tells us he wants us taking charges,” Cunane said. “I used to play AAU with him, I know he’s a lefty and I saw him coming down with his head down, knew we needed the play, so I stepped in front and took the charge
“It was one of the most fun basketball games I’ve ever played in.”
LC will battle CR North, a 60-50 winner over Germantown Academy, for the title on Saturday at 5 pm.
“Our goal is to go 2-0 for the weekend,” Hicks said.
