By Terry Boehmker
NKyTribune sports reporter
Newport Central Catholic boys’ basketball coach Ken Collopy said the challenging schedule his players faced during the first half of the season prepared them for what they encountered in the 9th Region All “A” Classic championship game on Saturday at Ludlow High School.
NewCath guard Brennan Hall, No. 4, has the ball knocked out of his hands on a drive to the basket against Lloyd forward Evan Molitor. (Photo by Dale Dawn)
After shooting just 24 percent from the field during the first half, the Thoroughbreds surged ahead in the third quarter and then watched their lead slip away in the final minutes before coming away with 55-52 win over Lloyd.
“You’ve got to grind it out and just get through it,” Collopy said of the roller-coaster ride to victory. “There’s been games earlier this year where we played good teams and we missed shots, sometimes we didn’t grind it out and sometimes we kind of gave up. We didn’t give up this time.”
This is the fifth consecutive year that NewCath has won the small-school regional championship, but that streak was in jeopardy up until the last second ticked off the clock in Saturday’s game. After Lloyd pulled to within 54-52 with 15 seconds left, the Thoroughbreds needed a big defensive play and a penalty to seal the win.
On a missed free throw, NewCath guard Brennan Hall battled for a rebound with a Lloyd player and officials ruled it a jump ball with the possession arrow giving it to the Thoroughbreds. When they inbounded the ball, however, a Lloyd player snagged it and began racing down court before an official’s whistle stopped him in his tracks. A holding foul was called against Lloyd, sending NewCath forward Luke Moeves to the free throw line.
Moeves missed the first foul shot and made the second one to give his team a 55-52 lead with 12 seconds left. That gave Lloyd a chance to tie the score, but one three-point attempt was blocked and another fell short on the Juggernauts’ last possession.
“It was a tough situation, but our kids never quit, they never backed down,” Lloyd coach Mike Key said of the frantic final seconds. “We were right there. We got the miss (free throw) we needed and got the basketball back, but … That’s basketball, and that’s life. Sometimes it doesn’t come out your way.”
NewCath forward Trey Wurtz draws a foul underneath the basket when Evan Molitor lands on his back while going up to block a shot. (Photo by Dale Dawn)
Lloyd was looking to win the first regional championship in the history of its basketball program and the Juggernauts got off to a good start. They led for most of the first half and had a 21-20 advantage at the break. Neither team shot the ball well during those first 24 minutes. NewCath was 7-of-29 for 24 percent and Lloyd was 8-of-28 for 28 percent.
The Thoroughbreds opened the second half with an 18-8 run to take a 38-29 lead. Senior forward Trey Wurtz scored six points in the paint and junior guard Stephen Pangallo made a three-point shot followed by a three-point play during that surge.
Lloyd responded by running off 12 unanswered points in the third and fourth quarters and jumped ahead, 41-38, on a basket by junior guard Isiah Voet with less than six minutes left in the game. But NewCath came right back with a 10-2 run that included 3-point baskets by Moeves and Hall to open up a 50-43 lead.
The Thoroughbreds scored their final five points at the free throw line, but they ended up making just 15 of 30 foul shots for the game.
“We struggled from the line, but coach told us to keep attacking the rim so that’s what we did,” Hall said. “That’s what eventually won the game for us — free throws.”
Hall was named most valuable player on the all-tournament team. He had 13 points, seven rebounds and three assists in the title game. NewCath’s other double-figure scorers were Moeves with 14 points and Wurtz with 12. Lloyd guard Derrick Cipillone took game-high honors with 16 points.
NewCath ended up shooting 35.4 percent (17 of 48) from the floor compared to Lloyd’s 33.9 percent (19 of 59). The Thoroughbreds also had a 39-37 edge in rebounding.
“What I’m most proud of with this team is there’s a saying, ‘It’s amazing what gets accomplished when no one cares who gets the credit,'” coach Collopy said. “When you have that type of family atmosphere and unselfishness a lot can get done.”
NewCath will take a 10-7 record into next week’s small-school state tournament and faces Cordia (10-5) in a first-round game at 11:30 a.m. Thursday. Cordia won last year’s state title after knocking off NewCath in the semifinals so the Thoroughbreds are looking forward to the rematch.
“They’re good,” Hall said of Cordia. “We only lost to them last year by two so we’re hungry to get them back. It’ll be a lot of fun playing them again down there.”
NEWCATH 7 13 18 17 — 55
LLOYD 11 10 12 19 — 52
NEWCATH (10-7): Hall 2 8 13, Moeves 4 4 14, McDaniel 1 0 2, Neff 1 0 2, Wurtz 5 1 12, Luken 2 0 5, Pangallo 2 2 7. Totals: 17 15 55.
LLOYD (13-7): Cipollone 4 5 16, Hamilton 3 3 10, McClendon 1 0 2, Neal 4 0 9, Fann 1 0 2, Molitor 2 0 4, Voet 4 0 9. Totals: 19 8 52.
Three-pointers: NC — Moeves 2, Hall, Wurtz, Luken, Pangallo. L — Cipillone 3, Hamilton, Neal, Voet.
ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM
NewCath — Brennan Hal (MVP) Trey Wurtz, Luke Moeves. Lloyd — Derrick Cipollone, Sterling Hamilton. Ludlow — T.C. Eades. Newport — McKell Burries. St. Henry — Stephen Maley. Holy Cross — Nolan Schrand. Beechwood — Owen Alcorn. Bellevue — Brett Maehren. Dayton — Jon Jimenez. Heritage — Allen Worley. Villa Madonna — Will Martin.
