Those who follow the Niagara-Orleans league know just how competitive the teams get with each other. Earning a share of the league title is a difficult endeavor.  Winning it outright is a major accomplishment.  But making it through a season in the N-O without a single loss…that just never happens.  In fact the last time it did was over ten years ago, and the team that did it, Starpoint, now plays in ECIC II.  

 

Last night, CSAT entered Roy-Hart's gymnasium with a perfect league record.  The Rams, who are having their best season since 2005, had lost just once on their court all season.  On paper, it seemed like the game to be at.  In person, the game was everything a basketball fan could hope for, and a perfect illustration of the way the teams in the N-O get after each other.

 

CSAT overcame a 13-point halftime deficit to defeat Roy-Hart, 60-59, in a down-to-the-wire thriller in the N-O.  With the victory, the Eagles claim their first ever league title, do so perfectly, and lock up the top seed in Class B2 for the upcoming sectionals.

 

"Honestly I'm shocked right now" CSAT head coach Michael Mills humbly stated immediately following the victory.  "When this year started (they began 0-2 in nonleague games), I never would have dreamed we'd finish this way and have the year we've had.  But once we started rolling, something changed".

 

After spotting the Eagles the opening basket of the game, Roy-Hart scored eight straight points to take the early advantage.  Then in less than a minute, CSAT rattled off seven points to regain the lead at 9-8.  The Rams then took the momentum back and kept the Eagles off the scoreboard for the remainder of the quarter.  Roy-Hart's Ryan Farewell scored eight of his 12 points in the quarter and spearheaded a 12-0 run that gave his team a 20-9 lead after eight minutes of play.  CSAT senior guard Darnell Carson did not start the game and sat the entire first quarter.

 

Carson, who was dealing with an infection in his leg, did enter the game in the second quarter and appeared to have no limitations in what he was trying to do.  Despite the Eagles turning to their leader, Roy-Hart was able to increase its lead to 15 points twice during the second quarter, including a 36-21 lead following a 3-pointer from the Rams Brad Bobbit with 55 ticks left in the half.  Alex Santos gave CSAT the final bucket of the half, part of his eight points during the quarter, to make it 36-23 at halftime.  Carson had just two points as the teams departed for the intermission.

 

Just 2:10 into the third quarter, CSAT had used an 11-0 run to make the score 36-34.  The Eagles switched to a zone defensively, which briefly baffled the Rams, and got some sharp shooting in their own end.  CSAT drilled three 3-pointers during the quick run, including two from Carson, who accounted for eight of the 11 points during the run.  Once it became a two-point game, Roy-Hart settled down and began finding the rim again.  With 2:50 remaining in the third, the Eagles pulled even for the first time, but were never able to steal the lead from the Rams.  After three quarters, Roy-Hart was on top, 46-42.

 

Blake Copella opened with a basket to start the fourth, giving Roy-Hart a 48-42 lead.  A pair of treys and a traditional three-point play accounted for a 9-0 run from the Eagles, giving them their first lead since early in the opening quarter, 51-48.  After Copella sank a deep two from the corner, Carson bombed in another '3' to extend CSAT's lead to four points, 54-50. Two minutes later and facing their largest deficit of the evening at 56-51, Roy-Hart clamped down defensively and made one last push.

 

The Rams limited CSAT to just a pair of free throws over a three minute span as the game moved under one minute remaining, while pulling within a bucket, thanks to a pair of field goals from Copella, making it 58-56 CSAT.  The Rams got the last stop they were looking for and had possesion with just 34 seconds left in the game and a chance to hold for the last shot to go for either the tie or the win.  However, as the Rams passed the ball around during that last possesion, Jorge Brown stepped in front of one for the Eagles and went the other way for a layup, making it 60-56 with 13 seconds left.  

 

Bobbit cashed in a '3' with five seconds remaining for the Rams, pulling his team within one, 60-59.  CSAT went to the line with 3.8 seconds to shoot a one-and-one, but missed the front end.  Roy-Hart rebounded and pushed the ball upcourt, but they were fouled before getting a shot off, and CSAT was still not in the bonus.  Roy-Hart needed to inbound from halfcourt with just 0.2 seconds on the clock and were unable to tip the ball in at the buzzer.

 

Carson led CSAT with 17 points, Santos scored 16 points, and Brown & Jaquille Peay each added 10 points for the victors.

 

Copella finished with a game-high 20 points for Roy-Hart.  Bobbit netted 13 points and Farewell chipped in 12 points.

 

-centercourt

@centercourt42