City of Basketball Love

Anthony Dabbundo (@AnthonyDabbundo)
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Trailing by six with just under three minutes left against Pottstown, Pope John Paul II’s PAC-10 Final Four chances were quickly slipping away. Despite a big third quarter from senior point guard Rich Dunham, the Golden Panthers chances of mounting a comeback looked slim.

Three consecutive threes saved their season.

In the ensuing two minutes, Luke Moratelli, Dunham, and Robby Girone sunk back to back to back treys, turning a six-point deficit into a two-point lead that Pope John Paul never looked back on.

On Pope John Paul’s senior night, three of the team’s leading seniors delivered the game’s three biggest plays, rallying from as many as 10 down in the second half to defeat Pottstown 43-40.

“We didn't let our heads get down and just kept playing our game,” Dunham said.

For the majority of the fourth quarter, it was Pope John Paul, not Pottstown, who kept their composure and did not let the high stakes affect their play. While Pottstown had multiple costly turnovers in the final few minutes, the Golden Panthers made the most of their opportunities at the offensive end.

For Pottstown, they go home just short of a PAC-10 Final Four berth, in what was a heartbreaking way to lose a game with the stakes and emotions running so high.

“I wanted them to experience a Final Four because they will hold onto it for the rest of their lives, they truly would,” Pottstown head coach Cal Benfield said.

For the first three-and-a-half quarters, it seemed as if Benfield and his team were well on their way to a berth in the Final Four.

After a slow-paced first half with both teams deadlocked at 16 entering the break, Benfield’s squad came flying out of the half on a 10-2 run. Leading 28-18 halfway through the third, the Trojans had limited Dunham to just three points on 1-of-8 shooting.

But the Golden Panthers captain wasn’t going to just let a golden opportunity slip away.

Dunham led his team back into the game late in the third, scoring nine of his team’s 14 points in the quarter, getting the deficit down to just two points entering the final quarter.

“I just turned it on after the first half and started making shots,” Dunham said. “I wasn’t making shots in the first half but I didn’t let it get to me. I just kept my head up and started making plays.”

The Trojans recaptured the momentum early in the fourth with tenacious defense, holding the Golden Panthers’ offense scoreless for the first four minutes of the final quarter.

Then, despite shooting just 16-of-48 from the field the entire night, Pope John Paul rescued the victory in the game’s final moments. First, it was a Moratelli three to cut the deficit to 36-33, followed by Dunham’s pull up three to make it 39-38.

The comeback culminated in a Girone triple with 50 seconds left that sent the packed Golden Panthers’ gym into a complete frenzy.

“He plays within himself,” Pope John Paul head coach Jack Flanagan said of his senior guard. ”He’s a smart player that can guard someone and can knock down a shot when we need him to.”

Once two desperation three point attempts in the final seconds from Pottstown missed, Pope John Paul clinched a berth in the Final Four after missing out on last year’s semifinals.

When the Golden Panthers (7-6) most needed a bucket, it was Girone who stepped up to send his team into a Friday night Final Four matchup against Liberty division champion Spring-Ford (11-2).

Girone may have hit the big shot tonight, but without the significant contributions from Dunham and Moratelli, who scored 17 and nine respectively, the Golden Panthers wouldn’t be preparing for a huge matchup against their rival from five minutes down the road.

“We came out hard this whole season,” Dunham said. “As hard as we’ve worked, we came through.”

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District Watch: Both Pope John Paul and Pottstown were ranked 6th and 7th in the unofficial district rankings, and are currently slated to face Holy Ghost Prep and Octorara, respectively. While this is unofficial, both teams should be safely into the 8-team AAA field.