No pressure, from a figurative standpoint, was on Bishop Ludden boys basketball player Cameron Littlejohn when his long-range shot flew toward the hoop as time ran out in regulation of Friday night’s game against Westhill.
The game was tied, after all, and even if the low-percentage shot missed, they would play four minutes of overtime, and Ludden would have an extra chance to prevail, even if the result wasn’t guaranteed.
But Littlejohn’s 28-foot prayer was answered – and the Gaelic Knights won, 50-47, to complete a regular-season sweep of the two-time defending Section III Class B champion Warriors.
This was the second meeting between the two neighbors and rivals in three weeks. In their first encounter on Jan. 4 at Westhill, Ludden pulled away in the fourth quarter and got a 58-44 victory.
But the rematch took a far different course. Westhill, now the visiting side, grabbed an 18-12 lead through one period and would nurse that margin through the game’s middle stages.
Despite the Gaelic Knights’ tremendous physical advantage, the Warriors flourished because, among other things, freshman Jordan Roland found open shots and made them, sinking four 3-pointers on his way to 18 points for the night.
Struggling against Westhill’s trademark man-to-man defense, Ludden kept itself patient and stayed within range all the way to the fourth quarter where, behind the inside work of sophomore Dan Kaigler (17 points) and freshman Zach Walser (15 points), the Gaelic Knights caught up.
As time wound down, Ludden led, 47-46, when the Warriors’ Joe Meluni was fouled. Meluni, with a chance to put his side back in front, only made one of the two free throws, tying it, 47-47.
And as the last-second sequence unfolded, Westhill shut down the inside, forcing Littlejohn into a tough spot to take a low-percentage shot in front of his student section. But it swished as the buzzer sounded, and players and students mobbed Littlejohn in jubilation as Ludden improved to 10-2 and Westhill fell to 6-7.
