STATE COLLEGE, Pa. — The waiting is finally over. Tyreek Duren, Tony Chennault and Danny Stewart were all able to take a collective sigh of relief. The Neumann-Goretti (Philadelphia, Pa.) boys basketball team, MaxPreps.com’s No. 5 team in the country and a squad weighed down by underachieving last year, made sure they got what they intended to get last March—the PIAA Class AAA state championship.
Chartiers Valley (Bridgeville, Pa.) didn't exactly hand it to the Saints, especially Duquesne-bound T.J. McConnell.
But after a back-and-forth, give-and-take battle, it was Duren, headed to La Salle, who made a free throw with 13 seconds left to play that sealed a 65-63 victory, as 20,706 gathered at the Bryce Jordan Complex to see the eight games played over the weekend.
The victory concluded a 30-1 season for the Saints—their one loss by one point to the nation’s No. 1 team, Yates (Houston, Texas), back in December.
Neumann-Goretti completed a season for the ages—but it was a season fueled by a massive chip on the shoulders of this very special team.
“It was an all-or-nothing kind of season,” Duren said. “You can say there was a lot of pressure on us the whole year, but I think a big deal in handling that pressure came from the trip we took to Hawaii. People look at what we’ve done this year, but all during our time out in Hawaii, we were the underdogs. Everyone thought that they were going to beat us. We learned a lot out there, we learned a lot about ourselves.”
It also helps to have a team that oozes talent. Chennault is headed to Wake Forest, Duren to La Salle and Stewart is bound for Rider.
“But people see that talent, it takes time and commitment to put that talent together, to have a team filled with talented players who are willing to work with each other, that’s what I was blessed with this year,” Saints’ coach Carl Arrigale said back in mid-January. “These guys push each other every practice. They’ve given in to what we’ve asked them to do.”
That all came spilling out Friday night when the Saints staved off a tough Colts team that seemed to care where Neumann-Goretti was ranked nationally. Just when it seemed the Saints would inch forward and take control, McConnell stepped forward and nailed a trey.
He finished with a game-high 32.
“The kid can definitely play and he’s probably one of the best shooters we’ve faced this year,” Arrigale said.
But in the end, it was the veterans coming through like Duren, who made three of four free throws. Lamin Fulton, a junior, connected on the free throw that proved to be the final difference.
“We have it now,” Duren said. “This is something I’ll always remember.”
PLYMOUTH WHITEMARSH GETS ITS REVENGE
Jim Donofrio held the PIAA Class AAAA (large school) championship trophy like he was cradling an infant. The Plymouth Whitemarsh (Plymouth Meeting, Pa.) coach sat on the bench as an assistant the last time the Colonials, ranked No. 21 in the country by MaxPreps.com, won a state championship in 1997.
This time, it was all his, to share with his players, like C.J. Aiken, Whis Grant, Jaylen Bond, Julian Bond, Brandon Dixon, Marcus Badger and Sam Pygatt. All season long, everyone in Southeastern Pennsylvania said there would be an eventual clash between PW and defending Class AAAA state champion, Penn Wood (Lansdowne, Pa.), which entered the game ranked No. 14 in the country by MaxPreps.com.
Penn Wood disproved the Colonials dominance in their first meeting, when Penn Wood came roaring back to beat Plymouth Whitemarsh, 54-49, in overtime in the District 1 finals on March 5. The Colonials were eager for the rematch.
They made their point Saturday night in the feature game of the PIAA state championship weekend, beating Penn Wood, 58-51.
“We really thought the whole year we were the better team, and we thought that coming into the championship game,” Grant said. “It was just a matter of proving it. We really did think that first game we played Penn Wood was a gift. We really didn’t play the way we were able to play. I think people saw that tonight. They saw what we’re really like.”
Donofrio wore a look of relief.
“You have to be relieved after playing and beating a team like Penn Wood,” Donofrio said. “They really are a great team. But we felt we just didn’t do the kinds of things we were able to do this whole year, and those things came out tonight.”
What really came through was the Colonials’ defense—and Aikens’ dominance. The St.Joseph’s-bound 6-11 center finished with a game-high 19 points and PW outscored Penn Wood 22-15 in the fourth quarter to win.
“C.J. answered a lot of people’s doubts,” Donofrio said. “There were a lot of questions about him after we lost to Penn Wood in the district championship. He answered them when it counted in the championship.”
Joseph Santoliquito covers high school sports for the Philadelphia Daily News and is a contributor to MaxPreps.com. He can be contacted at JSantoliquito@yahoo.com.
