Hendersonville Standard
HENDERSONVILLE WEATHER

Father Ryan buzzer-beater sinks JPII




Father Ryan at JPIIDon McPeak

Father Ryan at JPIIDon McPeak

Tied 46-46, the Pope John Paul II Knights had to inbound the ball under their own basket with 4.4 seconds left in the game against the rival Father Ryan Irish. Sam Specht got the ball to Michael Martini, but Martini lost his balance and the ball.

Father Ryan’s Oscar Armstrong scooped up the loose ball and laid in the winning basket as the horn sounded, giving the Irish a 48-46 win on Friday.

“As a young team that’s a hard loss to take,” JPII coach Charles Wade said. “But it’s my job to get them back on their feet.”

The Knights raced out to an 11-5 lead after the first quarter and a 23-13 lead at halftime. Specht led the way with 11 first-half points. Defense was the key to JPII’s strong showing in the first half, according to Wade.

“We played really good defense in the first half,” he said.

But the Knights saw their lead evaporate in the third quarter as Father Ryan’s outside shooters heated up. The Irish hit 7 of their first 9 shots in the third quarter, including four 3-pointers, to take a 32-30 lead. They finished the third quarter on top 34-32.

“They shot the ball better in the third quarter,” Wade said. “We were reeling a bit trying to slow them down.”

Offensively, JPII struggled in the third quarter, making only 4 of 14 shots.

“We didn’t shoot as well in the second half,” Wade said. “That’s a tribute to Father Ryan. They ran us off the 3-point line. We lost our composure a bit, but we got it back in the fourth quarter.”

The game was a back-and-forth affair in the final quarter with Father Ryan building a 40-35 lead before JPII came back to take a 45-42 lead on a pair of Specht free throws.

A basket by Father Ryan’s Kendall Young cut the lead to 45-44, but Martini answered with a free-throw to give the Knights a 46-44 advantage. A basket by Young tied the score at 46-46, setting up the dramatic ending.

“We’ve got to be more consistent,” Wade said. “That’s been our problem all season. The same thing happened tonight. We’ll grow from it. I want to see us fight back. Don’t get our heads down.”

Young led Father Ryan in scoring with 12 points and Sean Clunan added 11. Specht and Sabino Otira led JPII with 13 points each.

The win improved Father Ryan to 3-4, while JPII falls to 5-6. The Knights return to action Thursday, Dec. 20-Saturday, Dec. 22, in the Watertown Christmas Tournament.

 

BOX SCORE

Father Ryan (48): Kendall Young 12, Sean Clunan 11, Isaac Vandenbergh 9, Oscar Armstrong 7, William McInnis 6, Josh Pfeifer 3

JPII (46): Sam Specht 13, Sabino Otira 13, Taggart Patterson 6, Jay Wright 4, Ben Nixon 4, Timothy Lark 3, Judson Murrey 2, Michael Martini 1

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