Roman Catholic Defeats Neumann-Goretti 57-52 in OT for Philadelphia Catholic League Championship: Kehler on Hoops

Written by: Dell Jackson on February 28, 2023

Roman Catholic Defeats Neumann-Goretti 57-52 in OT for Philadelphia Catholic League Championship

Roman Catholic senior Xzayvier Brown scored six points in the final 15 seconds of regulation to tie the score at 48, then his Roman Catholic squad went on to defeat defending champion Neumann-Goretti 57 to 52 in overtime for the Philadelphia Catholic League championship on Monday night before a sellout crowd of about 9000 at the Palestra. It was a riveting game at the highest level of competition in Pennsylvania high school basketball. It is more difficult to win the Philadelphia Catholic League crown than to win a PIAA state championship.

The teams know each other well, and Neumann defeated visiting Roman 62 to 60 in the regular season on February 3. Normally Roman plays man-to-man defense, but on Monday night they mostly played a 2-3 zone, particularly concerned with defending the baseline corners from which Neumann had successfully launched a host of 3-pointers in recent games. Neumann had a new wrinkle for Roman on Monday night, often setting up a in 1-3-1 zone defense that morphed into a 2-3 zone during many Roman possessions.

Neumann took an early lead, helped by three Roman turnovers at the beginning of the game, but Roman soon forged ahead, paced by some drives and a floater by 6’ 2” Brown, a 3-pointer by 6’ 6” senior Anthony Finkley, and a couple of hoops inside by 6’ 7” sophomore Shareef Jackson. Roman led 16 to 11 after eight minutes of play.

Roman opened the second quarter with a 6 to 0 run on a fast break layup by Brown, a putback by Finkley, and a floater by 6’ junior Bobby Cottrell. That put Roman up 22 to 11, which would prove to be the biggest lead of the game. For the balance of the second quarter, Neumann chipped away at Roman’s lead.

Neumann had a big third quarter. Three different Neumann players his a 3-pointer each in the third frame, and one of them, by 6’ 6” junior Amir Williams, shooting from the right baseline corner put his team up 32 to 31. Following a Roman turnover, on Neumann’s next offensive possession, 6’ 1” senior Bruce Smith hit a 3-pointer, and Neumann led 35 to 31 at the end of the third quarter.

Following a drive by Smith and a putback by 6’ 8” senior Sultan Adewale, Neumann led 39 to 34 with 2:51 left in the fourth quarter. Roman countered with a drive by Brown, then a 3-pointer by Brown tied the game at 39 with 2:08 left in regulation. Neumann quickly responded with a 3-pointer from the right baseline corner by Smith and a putback by Smith to make it 44 to 39, Neumann. With 33 seconds left in the fourth quarter, Neumann went up 46 to 39 on two free throws by 6’ junior Robert Wright III. Roman’s Finkley hit a clutch 3-pointer to cut Neumann’s lead to 46 to 42. With 20 second’s left in the fourth quarter, Neumann’s Wright extended his team’s lead to 48 to 42 with a couple of free throws. Roman hurried up the floor, and Brown was fouled attempting a 3-pointer; sent to the free show line, he made all three attempts, and Neumann’s lead was cut to 48 to 45 with 15 seconds left in regulation. As the seconds ticked away, Roman got another chance when Neumann missed a free throw, but a 3-point attempt went awry. Another Neumann miss at the foul line gave Roman possession, and Brown dribbled up court and banked a 3-pointer at the buzzer to tie the game at 48 and send the teams to overtime, as the big crowd roared. It was a hugely dramatic shot by the determined and confident Brown, Roman’s team leader.

Overtime was not an anticlimax. Roman scored first on a 3-pointer by 6’ 4” senior Jermai Stewart-Herring, then Neumann responded with a putback by Adewale. Roman extended their lead to 53 to 50 on a Stewart-Herring putback. Neumann scored on a hoop inside by Adewale, but those were their last points of the night. Roman scored the final four points of the game at the free throw line for the 57 to 52 victory.

For the game, Roman had a 34 to 32 edge on the boards. Roman committed 10 turnovers to eight by Neumann. Roman made all 11 of their free throws, while Neumann was seven of 17 from the line. Missed free throws late in the game hurt Neumann’s chances. Roman made six 3-pointers, and Neumann scored seven times from beyond the arc. There were three ties and five lead changes.

Roman Catholic scoring: Xzayvier Brown 20, Anthony Finkley 13, Jermai Stewart-Herring 10, Eric Oliver-Bush 6, Shareef Jackson 6, and Bobby Cottrell 2

Neumann-Goretti scoring: Robert Wright III 13, Sultan Adewale 13, Bruce Smith 12, Amir Williams 8, Khaafiq Myers 3, and Stephon Ashley-Wright 3.

Some other stats of note: For Roman, Stewart-Herring had nine rebounds and Jackson and Oliver-Bush had eight rebounds each. Brown had five assists. For Neumann, Adewale had 11 rebounds and two blocks, Smith had six rebounds and an assist, and Wright had five rebounds and four assists. Neumann’s Khaafiq Myers, a superb 5’ 11” junior, was injured and did not play in the second half.

Roman Catholic 16 8 7 17 9-57
Neumann-Goretti 11 7 17 13 4-52

On Twitter: @david_kehler

Follow LLhoops on Twitter @LLhoops