Wheeling Jesuit-bound Patrick Moseh (2), a 2d team, all-conference honoree, was the high scorer in his final high school games, scoring 22 vs DJO, 15 against DeMatha.
There have been many near misses with Bishop Ireton’s chief rival over the years in basketball, including a 2-point setback earlier this month in Arlington, but Coach Neil Berkman’s squad sidelined the WCAC’s defending champions for the second year in a row with a convincing 49-34 win over Bishop O’Connell Saturday night at Gallaudet University.
The Knights, led by WCAC player of the year Romelo Trimble, never got untracked in the spacious college gym. Both squads struggled throughout the first quarter with the Cardinals grabbing a 10-7 advantage at the end of one. Both teams continued to play hard, aggressive defense, neither finding their range on offense and the clubs went to intermission with Ireton clinging to an 18-17 lead.
It was the Cardinals that took charge in the third quarter with Ireton’s veteran seniors leading the way. Dan Noe and Ty Quarles dropped consecutive three-point field goals on the Knights, Patrick Moseh slashed and muscled inside and suddenly the defending champs were on the ropes, down double figures to a confident group of Cardinals. By the end of the third quarter, Bishop Ireton had built a one-point lead into 12 points with the final 8 minutes remaining.
The response from the Knights never came. The 6th-seeded Cardinals continued to pressure the Arlington team and the lead continued to grow and the excitement build on the Ireton side. The news spread quickly and the celebrations commenced. The roar of the Ireton crowd at the School’s annual auction in Shirlington reportedly startled passers by on the sidewalk outside. In the Cardinal locker room however, the mood was reserved. “We’ve been here before.” commented Berkman, “the guys knew there was unfinished business. We were pleased with a win over a program like O’Connell’s but we wanted to be playing at Bender Arena for a couple days.” Patrick Moseh led all scorers with a game-high 22 points, Quarles added 13, Noe 11.  Trimble led O’Connell with 11 and Lewis Djonkam had 8.
The Sunday matchup featured the WCAC’s hottest team, DeMatha, who quietly charged through the league in the last weeks of the season to snare a number 2 seed.  The Stags continued their surge, dominating the Cardinals in the second half by a margin of 49-19 to break open a close game and cruise to the title game Tuesday against preseason favorite, Paul VI by 70-36. Moseh once again was the game’s high scorer with 15, Noe chipped in 11. 12 Stags scored for the winners, led by Terrell Allen and Ahmad Clark, each with 11.
The loss, while dampening the weekend excitement, did not extinguish the sense of accomplishment for the Cardinals,and their four seniors, who won 18 ballgames for a second consecutive year. For seniors Jamie Senft (Army), Ty Quarles, Patrick Moseh (Wheeling Jesuit) and Dan Noe (Navy) the three-year varsity run saw the Cardinals win nearly 50 games, including 22 in the WCAC, defeat the defending WCAC champions the past two years, eliminating the player of the year from a championship in the process, and becoming one of only two schools that have made it to the men’s semifinals in back-to-back seasons in the past two years. O’Connell’s Joe Wootten perhaps said it best when he commented, “your seniors played like seniors tonight.” The three-year run with the four players was the most successful period in Ireton’s history in the country’s toughest basketball conference.
The season abruptly ended with that semifinal setback. The VISAA’s Division I boys’ basketball selection committee met earlier on Sunday afternoon in Richmond and recognized the possible dilemma of Ireton being simultaneously expected to play in a conference championship while hosting a first round state playoff game the same evening. Citing the need to set the field and begin preparations, the state committee insisted on Bishop Ireton, a projected 5 seed, hosting the first round game on Monday to avoid a conflict. School officials rejected that proposal, but with the tournament set for a Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday, Saturday schedule, the only remaining option offered to the Cardinals was to decline the invitation. The School, unwilling to ask the players to play four and possibly five days in a row, subsequently declined the invitation.
“It was a very unusual situation, one we had not experienced before.” explained athletic director, Bill Simmons. “I recognize that moving seeding around, or waiting until Sunday night would impact 8-12 schools, not just Bishop Ireton. While I might disagree with what they came up with as options, I understand they did what they thought best for everyone involved. I was in contact with Coach Berkman and Dr. Curry throughout the afternoon and we were in agreement with our decision.  We did not want to make it any more challenging to win a conference championship than it already is by playing a game on Monday.” With that the campaign came to an end, the final tally reflected an 18-13 season, 7-11 in regular season conference play, good for a 6th place finish.
Processing your request, Please wait....
