For the last time, coaches Pat Donnelly of Bishop Ludden and Buddy Wleklinski of Christian Brothers Academy stalked the same sideline for a boys basketball “Holy War” and, fittingly, it had all the drama one could want.
In fact, regulation wasn’t enough, and four minutes of overtime kept things even until freshman Jai Smith jumped up and, with his rebound basket, beat the buzzer and pushed the Gaelic Knights past the Brothers 53-51.
Emotions on Senior Night at Ludden are always deep, but add the presence of CBA and the fact that Donnelly is retiring at season’s end and those feelings only intensify.
For more than three decades, Donnelly and Wleklinski, coaching rivals and longtime friends, have squared off at their respective alma maters. In 52 head-to-head meetings, they had, remarkably, won 26 times each.
This had a chance to be the final encounter because CBA, at 5-12, had to win this game or face post-season elimination. With that urgency, the Brothers made things as difficult as possible for the Gaelic Knights.
Mostly, this had to do with the tempo. Having lost 69-56 to Ludden at Le Moyne College on Jan. 14, CBA worked down the shot clock on most of its possessions, keeping the Gaelic Knights frustrated.
Though Ludden led 23-10 at halftime and by as much as six in the third quarter, the Brothers’ patience led to production and a lead early in the final period thanks to Sean Miller’s 3-pointer.
At one point, the Gaelic Knights trailed 44-40, but after an Avion Othman 3-pointer beat the shot clock, CBA didn’t score again in regulation. A basket cut the Ludden deficit to two and Joe Connor’s driving lay-up pulled things even, 44-44, with under a minute left.
They stayed that way into the four-minute OT, and didn’t separate in the extra frame, either. Ludden’s 51-48 lead vanished when, with 46 second left, the Brothers’ Will Mackenzie sank a tying 3-pointer.
Empty possessions on both ends led to Miller getting fouled with 8.8 seconds left. It was still a one-and-one foul situation, and Miller missed the front end.
Grabbing the rebound, Ludden worked it around to Connor, whose shot was off target – but Smith got his hands on it and converted just as time ran out.
For the night, Smith had 11 points as Sh’ikem Lee led the Gaelic Knights with 15 points. Connor had eight points as Ed Walser and Nic Button got seven points apiece. Othman, Mackenzie and SirVocea Dennis paced CBA with 11 points apiece.
