City of Basketball Love

Tom Robinson (@tomjrobinson)
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BETHLEHEM – The deeper Archbishop Carroll and Scranton Prep got into Monday night’s Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association Class 4A boys basketball state semifinal, the less significant the team’s vast difference in experience became.

The youngest team left in the PIAA playoffs handled one of the most experienced squads remaining in what should have shaped up as tense late-game moments.

Freshman Munir Greig scored 20 points as the Patriots qualified for their fourth state championship game and first since 2015 by turning back Scranton Prep 66-56 at Liberty High School.

“I felt like I was going to make some shots based on the way I was warming up,” Greig said after making his six shots from beyond the arc and half from inside as was. “First play, we ran five out where I came out, Ian passed to me and I just shot it. I shot another and it gave me confidence and I just kept going.”

The confidence seemed contagious on a nine-man roster for Archbishop Carroll, which consists of nothing but freshmen and sophomores. Seniors accounted for four of Scranton Prep’s five starters and seven of the nine players who appeared in the game.

None of that mattered as the Patriots combined offensive balance with relentless defense into the formula that allowed them to outscore the District 2 champion Cavaliers 12-5 over the last 6:52.

Archbishop Carroll placed four scorers in double figures and had the other starter reach double figures in rebounds. The Patriots committed just seven turnovers in the game and made their final four free throws while going 6 for 8 from the line in the last 1:31.

Following a first half that ended in a 34-34 tie, the Patriots picked up the defensive intensity. They harassed Cavaliers ballhandlers and forced the team’s multiple perimeter shooters into more difficult attempts when they even allowed them to have the ball.

Scranton Prep went 5 for 10 from 3-point range in the first half, but just 1 for 5 in the third quarter and 1 for 8 in the fourth. The Cavaliers were 4 for 18 overall (22.2 percent) in the fourth quarter.

Sophomore Ian Williams contributed 17 points and five assists to the win.

“Coming into Carroll that was the goal, my freshman year, that was the goal, just to change it back to how it was,” Williams said. “ … The goal was just to bring the Carroll community back together, bring the school back together and just have fun.

“We get a lot of love in the school because we’re just nice kids who play good basketball.”

Freshman Darrell Davis added 12 points. Sophomore Nasir Ralls scored 11 points and did much of the defensive work on limiting Scranton Prep’s Packy Doherty to nine points after he came off the bench to score 40, 20 and 20 in the first three rounds of state play.

Sophomore Luca Foster grabbed 10 rebounds to lead Archbishop Carroll to a 41-35 rebounding advantage.

Greig got Archbishop Carroll rolling early, hitting two 3-pointers and converting a three-point play for nine of the points in an 11-5 start over the first 3:40.

“If Mu is ready to go, we’re going to be good,” Williams said. “He’s a special talent.”

Scranton Prep scored the last eight points of the quarter, including a corner 3-pointer by Doherty on his first shot for a 16-13 lead after one quarter.

The teams were tied 34-34 at halftime.

Ambrose Rossi, who scored a team-high 17 points, muscled his way through a series of post moves to hit five of six shots in the first 8:25 of the second half. His basket 24 seconds into the third quarter gave the Cavaliers their last lead at 36-34.

Williams had a 3-point play and Davis a 3-pointer during an eight-point streak to a 50-40 lead.

Brycen Martin ended the third-quarter scoring with a 3-pointer, then Rossi scored one inside basket and fed Jordan Odom for another in the first 1:08 of the fourth quarter for a 7-0 run that cut the lead to 54-51.

Scranton Prep managed just two more baskets the rest of the way.

The Cavaliers also got 11 points from Daniel Santaniello and 10 from Martin while finishing 19-10.

Scranton Prep had beaten two District 12 teams, including champion Neumann-Goretti, but could not get past a third.

“In the game before, we knew that (Doherty), (Santaniello) and (Martin) were their shooters,” Williams said. “We just had to stay connected. In the second half, we were just getting to it and staying more connected.

“ … It was just being on our assignments more and being more consistent.”

Archbishop Carroll (21-8) advances to face defending state champion Lincoln Park, which defeated Hampton 74-53 to improve to 27-3. They play Thursday at 8 at the Giant Center in Hershey.

The Patriots lost in their last two PIAA title game appearances in 2013 and 2015 after winning it all in their first appearance in 2009.