Perhaps it only figured that, on a day of tragedy for the basketball world, two teams wearing gold and purple emerged victorious against their biggest rivals, who just happened to wear green.
Christian Brothers Academy’s boys and girls both prevailed against Bishop Ludden in the latest incarnation of the “Holy War” as part of the annual Pathfinder Bank Zebra Classic at Onondaga Community College’s Allyn Hall.
A last-second basket from Colin Kelly helped the boys Brothers prevail 52-50 over the Gaelic Knights, while CBA’s girls, amid its busiest and toughest stretch of the season, fought off a late Ludden comeback to win 52-47.
The task for the CBA boys, who had won seven of nine following a 1-4 start, involved taking down a Ludden side that was not only 13-1, but had mostly dominated the recent battles in its long rivalry with the Brothers.
None of this fazed CBA one bit, as it tore out in front late in the first quarter with a 10-0 run and would maintain the lead for much of the rest of the game, buoyed by a well-balanced attack and a tenacious defense.
It was that defense which saved the Brothers went it went more than seven minutes without a point in the third quarter, and would remain tough even when Ludden chipped away at CBA’s 47-41 lead down the stretch.
Not until Mykell Kaigler converted on a drive to the basket with 32 seconds left did the Gaelic Knights pull back even, 50-50, but it left the Brothers ample time for an answer.
It came when Dan Anderson, driving up the middle, passed to his right, where Kelly put in driving lay-up with 2.6 seconds left. But it wasn’t decided until the Gaelic Knights’ Monte Johnson saw a game-winning half-court shot bounce off the rim at the buzzer.
Sam Haas finished with 11 points, including a pair of crucial 3-pointers in the fourth quarter. Anderson, Kelly and Jason Boule each finished with 10 points as Kam Harris added seven points. For Ludden, Kaigler had 19 points and Johnson added 16 points.
Earlier that afternoon, CBA’s girls were in need of a boost, having gone just 3-3 since blazing out to a 9-0 start, and now it was facing a Ludden side coming off a big win over Bishop Grimes less than 48 hours earlier.
Both sides were going through a heavy game load, the Brothers playing for the seventh time in 13 days as the Gaelic Knights went through its fourth game in six days. But that favored CBA early as it led by as much as eight in the first half and was up 23-18 at the break.
Helped by key 3-pointers from Leanna Heitmann (who finished with 13 points), the Brothers extended its margin to 38-26 late in the third quarter, and would need that cushion.
Cold from the field most of the way, Ludden finally started to hit some 3-pointers in the final period, and got the margin down to 49-44 with a 3-pointer in the final minute to pull within two that clanged off the rim.
Ultimately, senior Brooke Jarvis put the game away with a series of late free throws. Of her 19 points, 12 of them came in the fourth quarter as her Ludden counterpart, Amarah Streiff, had 16 points, but was shut out in the final period. Emily Hall had nine points and Maura Clare Conan added seven points.
