Cold shooting dooms Shanahan

By Peter DiGiovanni
pdigiovanni07@gmail.com
@PeteDLN on Twitter
Philadelphia >> The finality of losing a PIAA playoff game is cold and stark. Not only is your season over, but in the case of the seniors on the roster, a career is ended, and the dream of winning a state championship is gone also.
Friday night at Southern High School, Bishop Shanahan’s boys team went ice cold at the wrong time, sending them to a 43-33 loss to Martin Luther King in first-round Class 5A action.
Shanahan (19-9) shot a frigid 12-for-47 (26 percent) from the field, and committed 17 turnovers, many of the unforced variety.
The Cougars (21-9) outscored the Eagles, 33-22, in the decisive second half to pull away for the victory.
“I will never forget the leadership of our three seniors,” Shanahan junior Kevin Dodds said. “They really led the way for us this season. I can’t really explained what happened in the second half. They started hitting shots they were missing in the first half and we could not knock shots down.”
MLK advances to face District 2 champion Abington Heights in the second round Tuesday at a site and time to be determined.
The two teams combined for just 19 points in a poorly played first half, with Martin Luther King leading 10-9 at the break. The Eagles shot just 4-for-24 in the opening half, while the Cougars were an even more horrid 2-for-21, including missing all 10 three-pointers.
MLK’s shots started to fall in the third period. Elijiah Kaih-El, who tallied 10 points for the Cougars, drove hard to the basket for a 20-12 lead with 3:49 to play in the period.
The Eagles borough the ball up and missed a three-ball. Rocardo Motenrio buried a three from the corner for a 23-12 lead. The Cougars looked to be a step quicker than the Eagles at this point.
However, Shanahan went on a 7-0 run to end the third period trailing 24-21. Thomas Ford, Dodds and a three from Brendan Dearing were the scorers in the run that found them right back in the contest.
“They put on that run at the end of the third period,” King coach Sean Colson said. “But, we shot so bad in the first half. We had to start making shots. We had good looks in the first half, but we could not make shots. Those shoats started to fall in the the second half.”
The Cougars seized the moment at the start of the fourth as turnovers continued to plague the Eagles. Shanahan turned the ball over 17 times on the night, eight in the third period alone.
Monterio buried another three to make it 29-21. A David Angelo free throw and a Ford follow cut the deficit to 29-24.
But, Shanahan could not make enough shots to come all the way back, misfiring on four straight possessions.
Denelle Holly, who led the Cougars with 11 points, buried five of six free throws in the final period as MLK outscored Shanahan, 19-12 in fourth to seal the victory.
The Eagles were only 3-for-13 in the final stanza.
“I will always remember these guys and the fun we had,” Senior John Kozinski said. “We went to practice every day and had fun and had some inside jokes.
“Just tonight was not our night. We have struggled in the playoffs with our offense, and our defense has bailed us out all year. But tonight, they just pulled away enough to get the win.”
Dearing and Dodds led Bishop Shanahan with seven points each.

Martin Luther King 43, Bishop Shanahan 33
BISHOP SHANAHAN: Dodds 3 1-4 7, Browne 1 1-2 3, Ford 2 2-2 6, Angelo 1 3-4 5, Dearing 3 0-0 7, O’Malley 0 0-0 0, DiBeneditto 0 1-2 1, Kozinski 2 0-0 4. Totals 12 7-12 33.
MARTIN LUTHER KING: Holly 1 9-13 11, Kaih-el 5 0-0 10, Andrews-Fulton 0 1-2 1, Robinson 0 1-2 1, Burgess 2 4-4 9, Monterio 2 1-2 7, McNair 1 1-2 3, Caimer 0 1-2 1. Totals 11 16-27 43.
Bishop Shanahan       6 3 11 12-33
Martin Luther King      2 8 14 19-43
3-point goals: Dearing, Burgess, Monterio 2.