City of Basketball Love

Stephen Pianovich (@SPianovich)
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At the end of regulation, Roman Catholic coach Chris McNesby had to regroup his team and get players’ heads back up after some disappointment.

The theme of McNesby’s message was similar to a few sentiments he has told the Cahillites in the past two weeks as they’ve suffered three losses, two of which came in Catholic League play.

“We looked deflated because we let it slip away, we missed some free throws and let them back in it,” said McNesby after Roman blew a 10-point lead in the fourth quarter and La Salle’s Ryan McTamney hit a clutch 3-pointer to force overtime. “At the end of the day we had to get back on the horse and pick it up.”

And that’s what Roman did. The Cahillites scored the game’s final four points thanks to a crucial steal from Paul Newman, and left with a 52-48 triumph over the Explorers at Arcadia University on Monday night. The win moved Roman to 4-2 in the Catholic League and 12-4 overall.

The win was a needed one in McNesby’s eyes. Roman entered the season seen as a power not only in the PCL, but nationally. But the last two weeks haven’t been easy on the Cahillites, who lost to Neumann-Goretti, Archbishop Carroll and Montverde (Fla.) in that timespan.

“We’ve played such a good non-league schedule, and our league is good. This group has not gotten a break,” McNesby said. “And we really needed that win to get our confidence back. As talented as all these guys are, they’re still kids. They still feel losses. They soak it in.”

Roman was back to full strength with the return of Newman. The senior forward was out since Jan. 3 when he got elbowed in the temple against Conwell-Egan. Newman missed five games, and Roman went 2-3 without him.

But in his return, Newman made his presence felt. He notched a double-double with 11 points and 14 rebounds, and the biggest play he made came defensively.

With less than 35 seconds remaining in overtime and the game tied 48-48, La Salle had the ball and it looked as though the Explorers would hold it for the last shot. Near half court, Newman pressured La Salle’s Shane Stark and swiped the ball.

Newman instinctively threw the ball ahead to teammate Tony Carr, who flushed a dunk to put the Cahillites ahead. Carr – who finished with a game-high 15 points -- would then hit two free throws with less than 10 seconds left to seal the game.

“Our coach told us not to let them get to the basket or shoot threes,” Newman said of the steal. “I knew they were going to give Shane the ball, so when he got it, I just had to strap up and get on him. …Then I saw Tony out of the corner of my eye and just threw it to him.”

Newman also started the game off strong, scoring six points and grabbing five rebounds in the opening quarter. “Once I was back I felt like I had to prove what I was capable of,” Newman said after the game.

Added McNesby: “We were missing him. He’s trying to prove something, and he wants to win his senior year. He had that huge steal, and it’s fun, as a coach, to see seniors step up and have those senior moments. We needed him.”

The two halves of the game played out in similar fashions. Roman raced out to a 10-2 lead in the first quarter, and had the exact same run to start the third quarter. There was another similarity, though, in that La Salle would not go away.

The Explorers ended the first half on a 19-11 run, and though they trailed 36-26 at the end of the third quarter, they were determined to make a game of it.

La Salle chipped away at the lead, eventually getting it down to 42-37 with two minutes left. That’s when Roman started going to the foul line and started missing free throws. The Cahillites missed five free throws in the last two minutes of regulation, including three front ends of 1-and-1s, leaving the door open for La Salle.

The Explorers got the ball back down 48-45 with 18 seconds left, and that possession is when McTamney’s triple from the top of the arc sent the La Salle student section into a frenzy.

La Salle outscored Roman, 20-10, in the fourth quarter, but the team had just two points in the four-minute overtime. McTamney had a team-best 14 points, while Matt Paulus had 11 and Jarrod Stukes had nine points – all in the second half – for the Explorers who are now 13-3 and 5-2 in the PCL.

For Roman, meanwhile, the non-conference schedule finished on Saturday, and the team can now focus on defending its PCL title. The Cahillites will have plenty of chances to do so, playing league games this Wednesday, Friday and Saturday.

And going into them with an overtime win should make it easier.

“Obviously there were expectations and pressures (for the season),” McNesby said, “but getting a win like that lets us get back to being us.”