SPRINGFIELD, Mass. – The much-anticipated game between top-ranked St. Patrick and defending national champion Findlay Prep lived up to all billing and came down to the narrowest of margins. 
Findlay Prep's Winston Shepard goes over Chase Plummer.
Photo by Lonnie Webb
In the end, Findlay Prep (Henderson, Nev.), ranked seventh nationally, pulled out a 71-70 victory in the premier game of the Hoophall Classic Monday.
St. Patrick senior guard Kyrie Irving had a game-high 30 points and a chance at the free throw line to send the game to overtime with one second remaining.
After Findlay Prep junior guard Nick Johnson missed two free throws with nine seconds remaining, Irving drove the length of the floor and was fouled at the rim.
He knocked down the first and Findlay called timeout.
The Duke-bound Irving missed the second and Michael Gilchrist, the nation’s No. 1 ranked junior, got his hands on the putback but his tip missed as well.
The St. Patrick contingent argued that there was contact, but the horn sounded and Findlay had survived.
“We’ve been tested with close games, won lopsided games, and traveled across the country and played in different environments,” Findlay Prep head coach Michael Peck said. “I told them there’s nobody more battle-tested than us and to let’s go get this one.”
Findlay was led by 23 points and 10 rebounds from senior point guard Cory Joseph, who got the better of Irving in the first half both scoring and defending against him. 
St. Patrick's Irving scoops in two of his game-high 30.
Photo by Lonnie Webb
“What more can you ask of him,” Peck said of Joseph. “He picks up his man full-court, scores the ball, has 10 rebounds as a guard – it was a complete game.”
The second half would see Johnson switch onto Irving after Joseph was forced to play through cramps. Irving turned things up and had 20 second-half points, while Johnson hit several timely 3-pointers en route to a 16-point, 10-rebound effort.
“An unbelievable player with a great skill set,” Peck said of Irving. “You have to account for him every second.”
Gilchrist had a gutsy performance himself battling a sprained left ankle while already wearing a right knee brace from a recent injury. The star 6-foot-7 forward had 18 points, nine rebounds and three blocks playing on two bum legs.
“We had to hope for a small crack and capitalize on it, then sustain the pressure,” St. Patrick head coach Kevin Boyle said.
A drive by Irving cut the lead to four, 59-55, with four minutes remaining. By the two minute mark, Joseph would hit a three-pointer from the top of the key that looked to be the dagger and gave Findlay a 65-57 lead.
Derrick Gordon would answer in a matter of seconds for St. Patrick’s and Irving came with another pair of drives, setting up the free throw battles between the two teams down the stretch.
Westchester (Los Angeles, Calif.) 55, St. Anthony (Jersey City, N.J.) 51
Dwayne Polee blocked a shot and Kareem Jamar scored on the run out with two minutes remaining as Westchester took momentum and closed things out in a game with big defensive efforts from both teams.
“It was a tough game physically. Both teams’ defenses were so good and we had to earn every basket except for a few,” Westchester head coach Ed Azzam said. “With two starters fouling out, Kareem and Dwayne really stepped up the entire second half.”
Westchester had 10 steals to help offset the inside presence of Derrick Williams (Richmond signee), who led all scorers with 21 points and picked up the slack without the services of Ashton Pankey (Maryland signee).
Jamar finished with 17 to lead Westchester. Senior point guard Jordin Mayes had nine and Polee had eight.
St. Benedict's Prep (Newark, N.J.) 72, Bishop O’Connell 52 (Arlington, Va.) 52
Keeping its big halftime lead, up 41-20, Myck Kabongo led St. Benedict with 20 points and 12 assists while Gil Biruta had 16 points and Aaron Brown added 14.
“I thought we did a great job in the first half with our transition defense, we shot it real hitting eight three-pointers, we gave up decent shots and got great shots,” St. Benedict head coach Dan Hurley said.
The point guard spot had the most focus with Kabongo a top junior at the position and Marshall a senior All-American candidate.
Marshall finished with 14 points but had seven turnovers against the pressure. Jordan Burgess led O’Connell with 20 points in the loss.
“He’s got his head on straight and is playing the position well for us right now,” Hurley said of Kabongo.
No. 17 Mater Dei (Santa Ana, Calif.) 79, No. 5 DeMatha (Hyattsville, Md.) 71
Coach Gary McKnight became the winningest coach in California high school boys basketball history with tonight’s victory with No. 844.
“We played really hard and knew what was at stake,” Mater Dei senior guard Tyler Lamb said. “This win means the most to me with it being Coach McKnight’s 844th. To do it on national TV, against a higher ranked team than us, and to do it here at the Hall of Fame – we’re all sharing the joy in this one.”
After exchanging leads, Lamb led an 11-0 run in the third quarter to extend Mater Dei’s to double digits for the first time in the game, 50-39.
DeMatha’s junior point guard Quinn Cook brought it back to just a 61-58 deficit mid-way through the fourth quarter, but Lamb and Gary Franklin quickly put Mater Dei back in front, 69-60, before closing the game out at the free throw line where the team combined for 13-of-17.
Lamb, headed to UCLA, led Mater Dei with 23 points and 11 rebounds. Fellow senior guard Franklin (California signee) had 17 points, with sophomore Katin Reinhardt adding 13 and Max Hooper scoring 11.
Mater Dei hit 12-of-26 3-pointers led by Franklin with four, Hooper and Reinhardt three apiece.
Versatile senior Keala King (Arizona State signee), of Mater Dei, battled early foul trouble and was forced to the bench after a cut under his eye.
Cook scored 23 points in the loss. Senior guard Victor Oladipo (Indiana signee) had 15 points and 16 rebounds. Junior big man Mikael Hopkins and senior guard Jerian Grant (Notre Dame signee) each had 12 points.
Springfield Central (Springfield, Mass.) 65, Springfield Commerce (Springfield, Mass.) 48
Central pulled away with a 9-0 run to start the fourth quarter and earn its second win at the Hoophall, this coming in a matchup of city rivals. Jordan Smith led the way with 23 points, nine rebounds and four assists for Central. Jaylen Brantley scored 15 points and Victor Aytche added 11 points and nine rebounds.
Sharvin Sands scored a team-high 18 points in the loss for Commerce.
Holyoke (Mass.) 64, Hadley (Mass.) 55
Junior point guard Juan Lopez scored 21 points as Holyoke led by 10 most of the way while fighting off several Hadley runs. Jonathan Rogue had 13 points and David Sot 11 in the win.
Hadley closed to 49-44 with just under four minutes remaining, but Holyoke’s free throw shooting down the stretch sealed the win. Roberto Agrait had 17 points for Hadley, while teammates Zack Garbicek and Joe Crespo added 15 and 11, respectively.
Quick hits
Villanova head coach Jay Wright and Kentucky assistant coach Rod Strickland watched two of the Class of 2011’s best in Michael Gilchrist of St. Patrick’s and Nick Johnson of Findlay Prep. ... Villanova is also one of the final five for Cory Joseph of Findlay Prep, who lists Connecticut, Minnesota, Texas and UNLV. Assistants from Connecticut and UNLV watched him as well. ... Duquesne, Georgia, Maryland, Richmond and West Virginia had coaches in attendance.
All-Tournament
National first team 
Findlay Prep's Cory Joseph was tourney MVP.
Photo by Lonnie Webb
Cory Joseph (MOST OUTSTANDING PLAYER/6-3 PG/Findlay Prep/Henderson, Nev.)
24 points & 10 rebounds in 71-70 win vs. No. 1 St. Patrick of Elizabeth, N.J.
Considering Connecticut, Minnesota, Texas, UNLV and Villanova
Kyrie Irving (6-3 PG/St. Patrick/Elizabeth, N.J.)
30 points in 71-70 loss to No. 7 Findlay Prep of Henderson, Nev.
Signed with Duke
Tobias Harris (6-9 PF/Half Hollow Hills West/Dix Hills, N.Y.)
35 points & 16 rebounds in 75-56 win vs. Sacred Heart of Waterbury, Conn.
Signed with Tennessee
Myck Kabongo (2011/6-2 PG/St. Benedict/Newark, N.J.)
20 points & 12 assists in 72-52 win over Bishop O’Connell of Arlington, Va.
Committed to Texas
Austin Rivers (2011/6-3 SG/Winter Park, Fla.)
21 points in 73-69 win vs. Gonzaga of Washington D.C.
Considering Duke and Florida
National second team
JD Weatherspoon (6-7 SF/Northland/Columbus, Ohio)
21 points & 7 rebounds in win vs. No. 15 Oak Hill Academy of Mouth of Wilson, Va.
Signed with Ohio State
Reggie Bullock (6-6 SF/Kinston, N.C.)
26 points & 12 rebounds in 60-37 win vs. Kentwood of Covington, Wa.
Signed with North Carolina 
Banged up Gilchrist (St. Patrick) just happy to be on court.
Photo by Lonnie Webb
Tyler Lamb (6-3 SG/Mater Dei/Santa Ana, Calif.)
23 points & 11 rebounds in 79-71 win vs. No. 5 DeMatha of Hyattsville, Md.
Signed with UCLA
Michael Gilchrist (2011/6-7 SF/St. Patrick/Elizabeth, N.J.)
18 points, 9 rebounds & 3 blocks in 71-70 loss to No. 7 Findlay Prep of Henderson, Nev.
Considering Kentucky, Villanova, and more
Tavon Sledge (2011/5-9 PG/Half Hollow Hills West/Dix Hills, N.Y.)
27 points in 75-56 win vs. Sacred Heart of Waterbury, Conn.
Considering Connecticut, Hofstra, Oregon State, Providence, St. John’s and West Virginia.
