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Roman's Lundy finds out 'how it really feels' after second PCL title win

02/27/2018, 2:45am EST
By Owen McCue

Junior wing Seth Lundy (above) hit the game-tying three against Bonner in Monday's PCL title game. (Photo: Josh Verlin/CoBL)

Owen McCue (@Owen_McCue)
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Two years ago Seth Lundy sat on the bench at the Palestra as Roman Catholic played Neumann-Goretti in the Philadelphia Catholic League championship.

Then-a freshman on a loaded Roman roster Lundy watched as Tony Carr, Lamar Stevens and Nazeer Bostick led the Cahillites to back-to-back PCL titles with a win against the Saints.

Though Lundy joined in the celebration, there was a bit of an empty feeling. He longed for another chance to get back to this stage. He wanted another opportunity to be on the floor making plays down the stretch to help his team win a championship.

“My freshman year, knowing I didn’t even get a second in the game, it was like, ‘I gotta come back,” Lundy said. “I want to know how it really feels.’”

On Monday night, Lundy was in in the same building, in the middle of a similar celebration after Roman beat Bonner-Prendergast, 51-49, for the PCL title.

With a crowd full of fans clad in purple t-shirts around him and his teammates nearby waiting in line to climb the ladder to cut down pieces of the net, Lundy held the PCL trophy in his hands and took a moment to reflect.

For about 30 seconds, he stared at the trophy, thinking about how far he’d come from his freshman season. This time around, the junior guard barely left the floor. The only holdover from that championship-winning roster finished with 15 points and made a pair of big plays down the stretch to deliver the Cahillities their 31st PCL championship victory and third in four years.

“I was on the team, but I know I wasn’t a contributor really,” Lundy said. “I was like ‘I gotta get another one. I gotta get another one,’ and I just came out here and we fought. All year, all summer, we fought and it was a great outcome.”

While he didn’t play much as a freshman, Lundy said the time spent around the talented group turned him into a better basketball player.

Carr, Stephens and Bostick were all seniors preparing to head off to Penn State after finishing off their careers at Roman. The Division I recruits made things hard on the freshman, who is now getting high major looks of his own.

“I feel like I’m here today because of those guys,” Lundy said. “Practicing every day, competing with them, I used to go home with bruises, scratches on my face, just getting beat up by those guys. They just made me tougher, they just made me more poised and they just made me want to be better.”

It also made him ready.

With Carr, Stevens and Bostick gone last season, Lundy went from barely seeing any action to becoming one of the team’s top contributors. He averaged 12 points per game to finish second on the team in scoring behind Allen Betrand and earn second team all-Catholic League honors.

Lundy also began to have the ball in hands late in games. The 6-foot-6 junior is an athletic wing with a smooth stroke. He can knock down shots in catch-and-shoot situations and off the bounce, which makes him instant offense for Roman late in games.

Last season, Lundy hit a number of big shots down the stretch of games, including a 3-pointer to beat Bonner at the buzzer. It’s something he has continued this year.

“All season long, and all season last year, he makes incredible shots down the stretch,” Roman head coach Matt Griffin said. “I think he rises to the occasion when the pressure’s on.”

Griffin described Lundy as a gamer. He said Lundy’s confidence late in games comes from the work he puts in to being prepared. After Sunday’s practice, Lundy stayed in the gym for two hours putting up shots. In a critical moment in the fourth quarter of Monday’s game, the ball was in his hands.

With Roman down 48-43 with 3:03 left after two free throws from Bonner junior guard Isaiah Wong, the PCL Most Valuable Player, Lundy took it upon himself to get the Cahillities back in the game. He got the ball at the top of the key, drove left into the lane, paused then put up a shot attempt to draw a foul and two free throws, which he knocked down to pull Roman within three.

On the team’s next possession, Lundy had the ball once again, this time on the left wing. He took two dribbles to his right, came back to his left and squared his feet for a 3-point attempt. Lundy held the release up high in the air before watching the ball go through the net to tie the game 48-48 with 2:24 left.

“It’s just moments like that I just keep poised, and just keep playing,” Lundy said. “I don’t overthink. I just let the game play, let the game come to me.”

After Lundy’s shot, the two teams exchanged free throws to tie the game 49-49. Following a Bonner turnover, Roman elected to run out the remaining two minutes on the clock and hold for the last shot. A feed from sophomore Lynn Greer III to sophomore Hakim Hart for layup with seconds left helped Lundy get his second PCL title.

While it took an extra year after a loss to Neumann in last year’s PCL semifinals, the wait was worth it.

“It was a great feeling,” a smiling Lundy said after the game.


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