WEST CHESTER >> The Bishop Shanahan boys basketball team needed a big play, and star forward Will O’Loughlin delivered, as he took an inbounds pass with .03 seconds on the clock and banked in the game-winner from in tight as the visiting Eagles took down West Chester Henderson 50-48, in a thrilling Ches-Mont National Division game Thursday night at Reichert Gymnasium.
“We work on that play a lot for those situations,” O’Loughlin said. “And I got a great pass from Ben Rodner-Tims and I just had a clear look and it went in.
“We played very good defense tonight and Charlie Federico really stepped up and had a big game for us. I can’t say enough about the game Charlie played tonight. This was a dogfight and we really needed the win.”
“It was a great play by Will,” Federico said. “And a great pass by Tims. This team never seems to quit and we played very good defense tonight and I was glad to help out.”
Bishop Shanahan (2-3 Ches-Mont, 6-6 overall) and West Chester Henderson (3-2, 9-5) battled tooth and nail for the entire 32 minutes, with no team having a larger lead than four points after the first period.
Shanahan jumped out to a 16-8 lead after one period, but the Warriors went to a man-to-man defense in the second period that seemed to bother the Eagles. West Chester Henderson led at halftime, 26-23.
The teams stayed very close to each other the entire second half. Connor Fleet, who along with Nelson Lamizana led the Warriors with 15 points, scored on a driving layup to give West Chester Henderson a 47-44 lead with 2:25 to play in the fourth period.
The Eagles came down the floor and missed a couple of outside shots with just under two minutes to play and the Warriors’ Dylan Grim grabbed the rebound. But the Warriors turned the ball over, one of their 14 miscues on the night, with 1:44 to play. Zane Domsohn brought the Eagles to within 47-46 with two free throws and just 1:30 to play.
Domsohn scored 13 points on the night with O’Loughlin tallying 14 and Federico leading both teams with 18 points, including a trio of three-pointers.
The Warriors, with a one point lead, came down the floor and Federico fouled Grim, who hit one of two free throws for a 48-46 West Chester Henderson lead with 1:19 to play.
Bishop Shanahan called a timeout with 53 seconds to go, then brought the ball up the floor and Domsohn darted past the Warrior defenders for a driving layup and it was a 48-48 game with 29 seconds to play.
The Warriors called timeout, then brought the ball up the floor, but the Bishop Shanahan defense trapped Henderson near midcourt and the Warriors turned the ball over again. The Eagles called another timeout with 16.6 seconds to go and possession of the basketball.
The Eagles got the ball in at half court and missed an inside shot, but the ball went off a Warriors player with .03 seconds to play. O’Loughlin got in position in the lane, close to the basket, and took a perfect pass and put in the game-winner as the buzzer sounded and the Eagles stormed the floor, mobbing their hero.
“We work on that play when we need a quick shot,” Bishop Shanahan coach John Dougherty said. “And Will and Ben did a great job on the play. And I want to say that Charlie Federico did a great job for us. He is just coming back from injury and I do not think Henderson was expecting us to have another big scorer after Zane And Will.
“This was a great win for the kids because Henderson is an excellent team and Rob (coach Rob Frattura) does a great job with them. We really needed this win and it was a battle.”
Bishop Shanahan 50, WC Henderson 48
BISHOP SHANAHAN (50) Domsohn 5 3-5 13, Federico 6 3-4 18, L.Kapcynski 1 0-0 3, O’Loughlin 7 0-0 14, Rodner-Tims 1 0-0 2, Boyle 0 0-0 0, Jordan 0 0-0 0. Totals 20 6-9 50.
WC HENDERSON (48) Sirchio 0 1-2 1, Ralph-beyer 4 0-0 9, Fleet 6 3-4 15, Lamizana 5 3-5 15, Suroweic 0 4-5 4, Smink 1 0-0 3, Grim 0 1-2 1, Jarden 0 0-0 0, Bell 0 0-0 0. Totals 16 12-18 48.
Bishop Shanahan 16 7 13 13-50
WC Henderson 8 18 11 12-48
3-point goals: Federico 3, L.Kapcynski. Ralph-Beyer, Lamizana 2, Smink.
