Saints can’t complete miracle comeback, see season end
Maybe Allen Iverson was right; maybe practice is overrated.
The Archbishop Carroll Patriots made a case for that Tuesday night at Wolf Gymnasium. Playing their first game in nearly three weeks, and after going a couple weeks without a practice, the Patriots knocked down three first-quarter 3-pointers and put Berks Catholic in a hole it could never could dig out of.
“They were hitting everything,” said senior Aidan Sands after the Saints’ furious fourth-quarter rally fell short in a 68-61 loss in the opening round of the PIAA Class 4A Tournament.
Archbishop Carroll thought its season was over; it didn’t find out until Friday that it would represent District 12 in the state tournament.
Patriots coach Fran Bowe scrambled to put things back together weeks after he and his players thought they were done. He never expected to see what unfolded Tuesday when the Pats ran off 11 straight first-quarter points, shot over 50 percent in the first half and went into intermission leading by 19.
Not only were they out front but making shots and playing well.
“That’s just one of those unexplainable things,” said Bowe. “It was 14-7 and I turned to my staff and said: ‘Our boys are just playing well.’ “
Indeed, the Patriots (13-10) took it to the Saints (23-5). Moses Hipps, a sophomore drawing Big Five offers, scored eight points in a two-minute stretch of the first quarter — a pair of free throws, a 3-pointer and a three-point play — that turned the game in his team’s direction.
The 6-4 guard was a match-up problem the Saints struggled to contend with; he went on to make four 3’s and score 31 points. In fact, Berks Catholic had match-up problems across the board as the faster, more aggressive Patriots exposed some defensive shortcomings the Saints were able to hide most of the season because of their own scoring prowess.
They came out cold this time, missed seven straight 3-pointers during one stretch of the first half and fell hopelessly behind.
“They all can shoot,” Sands said of the Pats, who led 54-27 late in the third quarter. “They get up and down well, their defense is hard, they’re aggressive. They’re a tough team. Moses Hipps, he can shoot; that’s why he has all those offers.”
Almost miraculously, the Saints made a comeback bid. They forced a bunch of turnovers early in the fourth quarter, started getting to the foul line, scored the 19 straight points and found themselves within 60-54 when Ryan Koch drained a 3-pointer with 2:42 left.
“Halfway through the third and in the fourth we were patient as can be,” said Saints coach Snip Esterly, “moving the ball, spreading it out, and that’s where Jay-Jay’s more effective. We move the ball, we move the defense and then he can do his thing.”
Josiah Jordan, BC’s leading scorer, went scoreless in the first half but came on strong at the end. He finished with a team-high 22 points, 15 in the final quarter.
“That’s not like me,” Jordan said of the slow start. “When it comes, it comes. When it’s not, it’s not there. I did what I had to do in the second half.”
The Saints had all the momentum at the end. Two Archbishop Carroll starters fouled out in the early minutes of the fourth quarter. The Pats went over five minutes without a point. And then, just like that, it turned again. As hot as the Saints were they suddenly went cold, going scoreless on three straight possessions.
‘”We made a great run,” Esterly said. “We were there. Ryan had an open 3, which he usually buries. He buries that, we’re within 3 and you never know what happens.”
“It could’ve made it 3-point game,” said Sands, “and we still could’ve got a stop.”
Instead, the Saints had to foul and put Hipps on the line. He made 6-of-8 in the final minute and 13-of-16 overall.
Koch, who finished with 17 points, hit another 3 with 8.8 seconds left to make it a six-point game again, but that’s as close as it go.
“We started coming back,” Sands said. “I got excited, and more excited, and then we just fell short.”
The Saints got a rough first-round draw. With a win they could’ve made a run to the state semifinals, maybe further. Instead it’ll be Archbishop Carroll that plays Athens Area, a 42-40 winner over Mid-Valley, Friday in the second round.
Esterly thinks Carroll can make it all the way to Giant Center for the title game March 24.
As for the Saints, they’ll have to be happy with their District 3 championship.
“To come off with a district chip, that’s good enough for me,” said Jordan. “It’s always good to go further, but (I’m proud of) the growth with this team, I love these guys. They really touch my heart.”
“I’m proud of the guys,” Esterly said. “Can’t be more proud. Six wins (last season) to 23? Playing for a county championship, and won a district championship? They can hold their heads high. I’m very proud of them.”
To purchase these photos or others from Tuesday’s game game, click here.
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Final | |
| Archbishop Carroll | 16 | 21 | 21 | 10 | 68 |
| Berks Catholic | 7 | 11 | 16 | 27 | 61 |
| Patriots (13-10) | FG | FT | 3’s | A | R | Points |
| Hipps | 7-13 | 13-16 | 4-8 | 0 | 2 | 31 |
| Smith | 3-8 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 4 | 6 |
| Coleman | 6-14 | 2-4 | 0-1 | 0 | 12 | 14 |
| Dixon | 0-0 | 2-4 | 0-0 | 1 | 4 | 2 |
| Ivery | 1-2 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 4 | 2 |
| Rogers | 2-4 | 0-0 | 0-2 | 2 | 2 | 5 |
| Deegan | 3-7 | 0-0 | 2-6 | 0 | 6 | 8 |
| Totals | 22-48 | 17-24 | 6-17 | 3 | 34/34 | 68 |
| Saints (23-5) | FG | FT | 3’s | A | R | Points |
| Sands | 5-15 | 1-1 | 0-3 | 1 | 11 | 11 |
| Jordan | 8-19 | 5-13 | 1-4 | 0 | 5 | 22 |
| Koch | 6-16 | 2-6 | 3-11 | 1 | 4 | 17 |
| Miller | 2-4 | 2-2 | 1-3 | 2 | 2 | 7 |
| Givens | 1-4 | 1-2 | 0-0 | 2 | 3 | 3 |
| Reinhart | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Cacchione | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Nein | 0-1 | 0-0 | 0-1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Lawlor | 0-2 | 1-3 | 0-0 | 0 | 4 | 1 |
| Totals | 22-61 | 12-27 | 5-22 | 7 | 30/35 | 61 |
Turnovers: Archbishop Carroll 15, Berks Catholic 8.
