To get an opportunity at reclaiming the Section III Class AA title it last earned in 2016, the Bishop Ludden boys basketball team would need to get even with one of just two sides that beat them in the regular season.
In Sunday’s semifinal at SRC Arena, the no. 3 seed Gaelic Knights met up with no. 2 seed Corcoran, a rematch of the Dec. 28 final of Ludden’s own holiday tournament where the Cougars prevailed 78-67.
Their second encounter turned out no different, in large part due to Corcoran senior De’Jour Reaves, whose 30-point effort helped the Cougars prevail 71-57 and end Ludden’s season.
With the pace quick from the outset, Corcoran jumped out 13-5 in the game’s first 3 ½ minutes and maintained that edge, leading 21-13 after one period.
Ludden trailed by as much as 14 before closing the gap to 35-25 at the break, but the Cougars stretched it out again in the third quarter, fueled by Reaves, who had 10 points in that period.
Down 8, the Gaelic Knights closed the gap to 61-53 midway through the fourth quarter. Yet Reaves kept Corcoran out in front with his wide array of dribbling skills and strong drives to the hoop.
Complementing Reaves, the Cougars got 12 points from D.J. Haynes, 10 points from Dewayne Young and nine points from Art Williams. And all game long, Corcoran dominated on the boards, out-rebounding Ludden 45-27 to get all kinds of extra possessions.
Sophomore Jarin Beauford paced the Gaelic Knights with 19 points. Mykell Kaigler had 12 points, with John DeMonte and Nazier Kinsey each getting 10 points, but Monte Johnson was held to four points.
Getting to this game required Ludden to hold off another city foe in last Tuesday’s AA quarterfinals, and the Gaelic Knights did so, edging no. 6 seed Nottingham 60-58.
Sporting an 11-9 record, the Bulldogs would go in lockstep with Ludden throughout a tightly played first half, neither side gaining any sort of advantage.
And it stayed that close through the second half, too, the Gaelic Knights up 47-45 through three periods, but unable to get away as Nottingham fought its way in front, 58-57, with less than a minute left.
Staying poised in a tense situation, Ludden took advantage of the defensive attention given to other players and saw Grant Lewis hit a go-ahead 3-pointer with 30 seconds left. From there, the Gaelic Knights’ defense made one more stop to keep its season alive.
Johnson led the way with 21 points, while Beauford had 16 points and Kaigler got 12 points. The Bulldogs got 16 points from Mazi Jackson, 15 points from Marlen Peters and 14 points from Jaiden Ezomo.
