The breakdown: Pope John Paul II boys begin postseason with close call
The Pope John Paul II boys kept their season alive on Tuesday night with a 46-43 victory over visiting Father Ryan in the opening round of the TSSAA Division II-Class AA state tournament.
Breakdown of the contest:
Records: Father Ryan 8-19, Pope John Paul 17-10
Nuts and bolts: The game saw huge momentum swings by both teams in each quarter. PJP II jumped out early with a 7-1 lead before Father Ryan responded with a 18-4 run until midway through the second quarter. The offensive burst was helped in part by four 3-pointers, which allowed the Fighting Irish to take a 20-17 lead into halftime.
Turning point: Poised to pull off a potential upset, Father Ryan looked to continue their hot shooting behind the arc in the second half. JPII had other plans, as the Knights cranked up the intensity on the defensive end to hold the Fighting Irish to only one field goal in the third quarter. JPII outscored Father Ryan 16-3in the third to erase their first half deficit and take a commanding 33-23 lead into the fourth quarter. The Fighting Irish attempted to make a late comeback after back-to-back three-pointers from Brandin Haugh made it 44-43 in the final minute. However, a layup by PJP II guard Jalon Cambridge sealed the victory after a shot by J.C. Cluwi rimmed out at the buzzer for Father Ryan.
Leading scorers: Father Ryan: Reed Grindstaff 13, J.C. Cluwi 12, Brandin Haugh 9. Pope John Paul: Jalon Cambridge 14, Devan Cambridge 8, Matthew Galvin 7.
What’s next: Pope John Paul will move on to face McCallie in Chattanooga in the state quarterfinals. The Knights fell to McCallie 72-66 on Jan. 7 and 75-49 on Jan. 13.
Quotable: “Defensively we turned it around a little bit and put a little pressure on them,” JPII head coach Charles Wade said. “Jamaal Thompson came off the bench and gave us a big lift defensively. Our defense generated our offense and got us a nice cushion going into the fourth quarter. This team is our rivals and it’s already tough to beat them, but to beat them three times is kind of unheard of. We’ve been fortunate to be able to do it the last few years.”
“(McCallie) really pressured us the last couple of time we were up,” Wade said of facing McCallie in the next round. “They’ve got a really good guard, amd some shooters and good big guys so it’s an all-around tough matchup. They don’t have 25 wins for nothing.”
>> The Lady Knights saw their season end with a 67-25 loss at Baylor in the opening round of the state tournament.