Pat Donnelly is not done coaching the Bishop Ludden boys basketball team yet.
In his last appearance on the home court of his alma mater, Donnelly, who is retiring at season’s end, and the no. 4 seed Gaelic Knights held off no. 5 seed Henninger 78-75 in Tuesday night’s Section III Class AA quarterfinal.
Way back in early December, Henninger beat Ludden 63-59, but even in that loss the Gaelic Knights found it could compete against a top AA contender, and would only improve from there.
More than two months later, the Black Knights found that it had no answer for Ludden’s freshman forward, Jai Smith, who controlled the paint throughout the night, amassing 23 rebounds to go with his 23 points.
All of those extra chances paid off in the second quarter as the Gaelic Knights moved out in front. Up 40-32 at halftime, Ludden would need that cushion as Henninger charged at them throughout the second half.
Led by Jadan Graves (24 points), Kaijah Rodgers (14 points) and Travis Gray (13 points), the Black Knights would inch within two by the final minute, only to have Nic Button hit a key free throw and Ed Walser intercept a last-second pass to clinch a Ludden victory.
Button’s 17 points included three 3-pointers, while Sh’ikem Lee earned 14 points. Joe Connor gained 12 points and Walser finished with eight points.
While all this was going on, Westhill, the top seed and defending sectional and state champions in Class B, gained some payback of its own in its sectional quarterfinal when the Warriors beat no. 8 seed Cazenovia 77-55.
Cazenovia had beaten Westhill 60-54 a month earlier at Buckley Gym – but that was without Sean Dadey in the lineup.
Even with Dadey present for this playoff rematch, the Lakers kept up with the Warriors throughout the first quarter, only kept out of the lead because Brown hit three 3-pointers for Westhill, including one right before the horn that broke a 12-12 tie.
Far greater damage was done by the Warriors during a 15-2 run in the second quarter. Brown hit twice more beyond the arc and Dadey ran his total to 12 points, so the Lakers went to halftime trailing 40-28.
Despite all this, the Lakers had a glorious opportunity to catch up in the third quarter, holding Westhill without a point for more than four minutes.
Yet the Lakers missed enough shots from the field and at the free-throw line, so it only cut the deficit to 44-37 before Geer’s back-to-back 3-pointers reinstated the Warriors’ double-digit margin for good.
As Westhill put the game away in the fourth quarter, Geer, hitting five 3-pointers overall, finished with 17 points as Brown ran his total to 25 points and Dadey got 20 points.
What ultimately doomed the Lakers was that no single player got close to those totals, despite a well-balanced attack. Drew Johnson and Thomas Bragg each got 13 points, while Kevin Stalder had 10 points and Dan Kent had nine points.
