WEST NORRITON >> None of the nine players on Archbishop Carroll’s roster were on the team in 2021 that blew a 17-point lead against Allentown Central Catholic in the PIAA-4A state quarterfinals. The six sophomores and three freshmen weren’t even in eighth grade when that game was played.
But they were on the court Tuesday night and got revenge.
(12-3) Archbishop Carroll overcame a 15-point deficit and rallied to beat (11-1) Allentown Central Catholic, 62-56, in the second round of the PIAA-4A state playoffs at Norristown Area High School.
“Apparently Allentown Central Catholic is our rival now,” Carroll coach Francis Bowe joked, “because I’ve played them now three times in states. One year they beat us, they came back from (17) and they won a state championship. It was like, we’re down … we can come back and hopefully pray to get the same result.
“It’s always a tale of two stories with our guys. We’re freshmen and sophomores, so you’re going to go through these moments where they’re in a fog and then you’re going to be super locked in, turn it on, turn it off… They’re just great kids. They’re competitive. They are what I would call ‘one through nine hoopers.’ They just want to play basketball.”
The Patriots (19-8), who will face (12-2) Carver Engineering & Sciences in the quarterfinals Friday, trailed 29-14 during the second quarter before heading to the locker room with a 12-point deficit, 30-18. Freshman Darrell Davis hit a three-pointer on the first possession of the third quarter to start a 22-point quarter and 44-point half.
“Knowing me, I’m the energizer of the team,” Davis, who finished with 14 points and nine rebounds, said. “If I do something, the team’s going to follow. I set the energy… Everybody starts smiling and picking up full court. It was a big shot.”
Davis hit three three-pointers in the third quarter while freshman Munir Greig scored seven of his team-high 19 points to help trim the margin to three, 43-40, heading into the fourth.
Sophomore Ian Williams tied the game, 48-48, with a pair of free throws with 4:40 remaining in the game before sophomore Luca Foster gave Carroll its first lead of the game, 51-50, with a corner three with four minutes to go.
The teams were tied at 51 and 53 before Davis gave Carroll the lead for good, hitting two free throws to pull in front 55-53 with 1:51 to play. He also drew the fifth foul on ACC’s Jahrel Vigo, who scored a game-high 25 points.
Over its next three defensive possessions, Carroll forced three turnovers. Williams and Davis grabbed steals and the Vikings (21-7) committed a traveling violation. The Patriots didn’t allow a point from the 1:59 mark on until a meaningless three went through the basket as time expired.
“Ian (Williams) was picking up full court,” Davis said. “He heard us talking to him in the back, knowing we had his help. We were diving on the floor trying to take charges, we were rebounding, helping the big men. We were talking. We were everywhere.”
“Intensity,” Bowe credited for the defensive success. “These guys practice – they go after each other in a good way… They brought that. What you saw in the second half is what we see on a daily basis in practice. We remind these guys – where’s your intensity, where’s that ‘Let’s go.’ They just turned it up.”
While the defense was getting stops, the offense was hitting free throws. The Patriots went 13-for-15 from the free-throw line in the fourth quarter, including 9-for-10 in the final 111 seconds.
Archbishop Carroll 62, Allentown Central Catholic 56
Archbishop Carroll 10 8 22 22 – 62
Allentown Central Catholic 16 14 13 13 – 56
AC: Luca Foster 4 2 3-4 17, Darrell Davis 0 4 2-2 14, Ian Williams 1 0 6-8 8, Drew Corrao 2 0 0-0 4, Nasir Ralls 0 0 0-0 0, Munir Greig 6 0 7-10 19, Nate Rusole 0 0 0-0 0. Total 13 6 8-24 62.
ACC: Jahrel Vigo 9 0 7-7 25, David Fridia 1 0 0-0 2, Lucas Mushrush 5 2 0-0 16, Tim Spinosa 1 0 0-0 3, Cole Cook 1 0 2-4 4, NaSean Davis 0 1 0-0 3, JaKeir Ensley 0 0 0-0 0, Yariel Gonzalez 0 1 0-0 3, Harrison Stewart-Smith 0 0 0-0 0. Total 16 5 9-11 56.
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