Boys Basketball State Run Ends Abruptly

Octorara's James Brown, left and Conor Kasabo hold their mouths as their game with Neumann-Goretti winds down in Norristown Friday night. (Steven M. Falk / Staff Photographer)

Octorara's magical march toward their first ever State title came to a screeching halt Friday night in Norristown as the team lost to defending state champs Neuman-Goretti.

Here's the Inquirer article:

Octorara made a big splash this season. The Braves won the Ches-Mont League championship, claimed their first District 1 crown since 1986 and survived two taut state playoff contests.

But, as it found out in Friday's PIAA Class AAA quarterfinal playoff, Gene Lambert's squad didn't have near enough in the arsenal to keep pace with defending state titlist and District 12 powerhouse Neumann-Goretti.

With junior wing guard Billy Shank delivering a game-high 18 points, all from beyond the arc, the Saints broke things open in the second half and easily triumphed, 57-30, at Norristown High.

With its pressure man-to-man defense, Neumann-Goretti smothered quick-footed guards Lamont Clark and Charles Cooper. The savvy duo, potent all season, combined for just 10 points.

High-leaping sophomore forward John Davis (11 points) and senior point guard Lamin Fulton (10) joined Shank, who had four second-half treys, in double figures.

Next for the Saints (25-4) is a semifinal date on Wednesday, with the site and time to be determined, against District 3 champion Lancaster Catholic, a 56-41 winner Friday over District 2 winner Holy Redeemer

In the second quarter, Fulton's right-wing trey, junior sub La'Quan Coaxum's driving layup and Shank's triple from up top put the Catholic League champions in front, 24-11. With a free throw from Clark and a follow from 6-foot-2 junior Mike Navarro, Octorara (23-6) closed the gap to 26-16 at the break.

At the end of the third quarter, Shank's left-wing trey made it 37-22. From there, the closest the Braves got, thanks to Cooper's trey early in the fourth, was 37-26.

Following Cooper's triple, a slam by Davis and Shank's fifth bomb of the night increased the lead to 16.

Later in the fourth period, Shank's final triple, Fulton's three-point play and an inside bucket by 6-5 junior Derrick Stewart made it 50-27. With 1 minute, 54 seconds to go, most of the Saints' starters gave way to the subs.

James Brown, a 6-2 junior forward, led Octorara, which was held to eight points in each of the first two quarters, with eight points. Clark, a 5-10, 165-pound senior lead guard who is hearing from the likes of Alvernia, Albright and Immaculata, netted seven.

For the season, Shank has hit 69 threes. Fulton, who had a second-quarter trey, has totaled 59.

Neumann-Goretti   13 13 11 20 - 57

Octorara   8 8 6 8 - 30

NG: Lamin Fulton 10, Billy Shank 18, Derrick Stewart 5, John Davis 11, Ja'Quan Newton 3, La'Quan Coaxum 2, Shane Thomas 2, Jamal Custis 2, Troy Harper 2, Hanif Sutton 2.

O: Lamont Clark 7, Charles Cooper 3, Conor Kasabo 3, Mike Navarro 4, James Brown 8, Dequan Newton 2, Mauriece Bowers 3.

This from the Philadelphia Daily News:

Stewart lifts Neumann-Goretti to playoff victory

A glance at the scorebook would have caused you to believe Derrick Stewart was a no-show last night in the third quarter of a PIAA basketball playoff.

Scorebooks have been known to lie.

Just because a guy doesn't score a point, don't go thinking he can't exert huge influence in other manners.

The 6-6, 195-pound Stewart, a junior, is a forward/center, depending on situations, for Ss. Neumann-Goretti, the defending Class AAA state champion and looking more and more as if it intends to claim another crown.

Like his brother, Danny, a starter last season and now at Rider, Derrick is mostly known for pogo-sticking. But as he proved in a quarterfinal at Norristown, which saw the Saints dismantle Octorara, 57-30, he can also enjoy great moments while sliding backward across the floor. After absorbing contact.

In an 11-6 third quarter, which saw N-G expand a 26-16 halftime lead, Stewart recorded two blocks, took the same amount of charges, got another steal down low, forced a missed layup just by extending his hands and standing his ground and . . . as the session ended, whipped the ball 20-plus feet to the left corner so Billy Shank could drain a three-pointer.

Referring to his extras, Stewart said, "Everybody just can't go out there and run and gun. That's what a team's about. Sometimes you have to be that person who has five points [as he did], or even zero, but still does nice things to help get that victory.

"You can be effective on the court with or without the ball.''

All of Stewart's defensive dandies came in help situations. Correct. He victimized guys who were not his assignment as Octorara's possessions began.

"In our last practice, coach [Carl Arrigale] was saying, 'If they get into the lane, you can take a charge,' '' Stewart said. "I came into the third quarter with only one foul, so I could be a little [brassy]. If someone got beat off the dribble, I tried to have his back and protect the rim.

"It's about playing to all of your ability. If I'm doing that and my teammates are doing it, too, we're going to be OK.''

Stewart finished with 13 rebounds, three blocks, four steals and even five assists, most of which came courtesy of Shank's mad bombing.

He went a rousing 6-for-9 behind the arc. One of his treys came in a 9-0 run that enabled the Saints to reel off nine consecutive points, upping their lead to 24-11. He was most productive beyond intermission, burying two apiece in the last two quarters.

"Billy had his hands up, wanting the ball,'' Stewart said of the sequence that ended the third quarter. "When he's on, his confidence is even higher than it normally is. Once he makes a couple . . . Hey, I always know where he is [corner or wing]. It wasn't hard to find him. I gave him that quick pass and he knocked it down. I was happy for him.''

Lamin Fulton, a point guard who's bound for St. Peter's, also had a three in the aforementioned 9-0 run. He concluded the night with 10 points. John Davis shot 4-for-6 en route to 11 points and snagged 10 boards.

Octorara shot just 4-for-20 in the second half.

In a semifinal Tuesday (details TBA), Neumann-Goretti will meet either Lancaster Catholic.

"This is all about Lamin,'' Stewart said, again showing good-teammate qualities. "He's our only senior [except for last-man Jordan Johnson] and I'd love to see him leave here with another state title. That'd be great, right?''

And this from highschool-basketball.com

PIAA Class AAA State Championship Tournament Quarterfinal
 
Game #227 Neumann-Goretti (Philadelphia) 57 Octorara (Atglen, PA) 30
 
Neumann-Goretti had too much of everything for Octorara--too much speed, too much height, too much outside shooting, too much offensive structure, too much defensive pressure, too much rebounding, and too deep a bench.  This game was never really close, although Octorara tried hard until the end.  Midway through the second quarter, Neumann went up 21-11 on a pass by 6' 5" junior Derrick Stewart from the high post inside to 6' 2" junior LaQuan 

Coaxum, and the closest that Octorara got from that juncture was nine points.  Stewart's play in the high post was terrific, showing really nice passing ability.  Right after his assist to Coaxum, Stewart flipped a short pass to 5' 8" junior Billy Shank, who had cut past him headed away from the baseline, and Stewart set a screen over which Shank shot a three.  Shank was on fire from outside in this game, hitting threes from all over the floor.  Shank had six threes in the game.  In all, 10 men scored for Neumann.

For the winners, Shank finished with 18 points, 6' 4" sophomore John Davis netted 11, and 5' 9" senior Lamin Fulton had 10 points.  For Octorara, 6' 2" junior James Brown had eight points.   

Neumann-Goretti 13 13 11 20-57
Octorara 8 8 6 8-30