A single number explains how the Bishop Ludden boys basketball team saw its undefeated mark disappear against Rochester Aquinas in Wednesday night’s final of the Rosemary Corcoran Holiday Classic, and it wasn’t the 58-45 final score.
It came from rebounding. The Little Irish weren’t so little on the glass, grabbing 38 boards, more than twice the number of the state Class AA no. 10-ranked Gaelic Knights, who only had 17.
That domination in the paint ultimately took a toll as Ludden’s double-digit lead that it carried into the second half wilted away and Aquinas took charge, led by tournament MVP Jalen Pickett, who earned 27 points and 15 rebounds.
It didn’t start out that way. Fueled by Ed Walser’s 12 first-quarter points, the Gaelic Knights played tough on both ends, using its man-to-man defense to atone for its struggles grabbing boards.
Then Mika Adams-Woods took over in the second period. Of Ludden’s 13 points, 12 of them came from the junior guard, which helped expand the Gaelic Knights’ lead to 31-18.
Even then, though, the fact that Aquinas had out-rebounded Ludden 18-7 was a problem, and in the third quarter, trailing 36-24, the Irish started to turn those extra possessions gained from rebounds into baskets.
For the rest of the game, Ludden managed just three field goals. Sparked by Pickett and Jason Hawkes, who had 18 points and 11 rebounds, Aquinas outscored the Gaelic Knights 36-9, and further help came from Luke Putnam, who hit a trio of timely 3-pointers.
A day earlier, Pickett had 21 points and 12 rebounds as Aquinas edged Liverpool 67-64 in the tournament’s opening round, while Ludden pulled away to beat New Hartford 73-51.
Though most who had gathered for the tournament hoped for another showdown between the host side and Liverpool in the finals, that’s now how it turned out.
To get that match-up that resembled last March’s Section III Class AA final and the Dec. 3 season opener at Onondaga Community College’s Allyn Hall (both of which Ludden won), the Gaelic Knights would have to get past New Hartford in the first round and Liverpool would have to beat Rochester Aquinas.
Ludden did its part, handling New Hartford despite a lackluster start that saw the Gaelic Knights manage just seven points in the first quarter. But when the second period started, Ludden took off, outscoring New Hartford 25-8 the rest of the half to take the lead for good, overcoming a 30-point effort by the Spartans’ Frankie Policelli by spreading its production around.
Adams-Woods still had 23 points, and Joe Connor was strong, too, with 15 points. Plenty of others helped, though, as Sh’ikem Lee got eight points and Jai Smith earned seven points, while Walser and Keandre Sanders earned six points apiece.
In the other opening-round game, Aquinas beat Liverpool 67-64. The Warriors, thanks to a strong second quarter, led 34-29 at halftime, but could not hold on to it as the Irish outscored them 22-13 in the third quarter.
Through a tense homestretch, Liverpool had plenty of opportunities, but could not capitalize, even as its attack showed nice balance to offset the attention Aquinas gave to Charles Pride, who still had 11 points, eight rebounds, four assists and two steals.
Liverpool would rebound in a big way during Wednesday night’s consolation game against New Hartford, netting 22 consecutive points between the second and third quarters as the Warriors earned a 98-73 victory over the Spartans.
Just before this, Westhill made a strong statement. Up against undefeated Utica-Notre Dame on Dec. 22, Westhill jumped all over the Jugglers in a 91-60 victory, making everything during a 23-3 opening spurt and leading 31-6 by the end of the first quarter, a strong response by the Warriors to its first loss of the season in overtime to Jamesville-DeWitt earlier in the week.
Nursing that lead for the rest of the night, Westhill saw Sean Dadey put up 18 points, six assists and three steals, while Kameren Jackson had 17 points, six rebounds, four assists and two steals.
Braeden Elmer picked up 14 points, seven rebounds and three assists as John Geer managed nine points. Owen Matukas and Jordan Marcano each got eight points and Zach Brown earned six points and six rebounds. Holden Carroll also had six rebounds as, for UND, Jaylen Warmack (16 points) and Treijen Garrett (15 points) led the way.
