Bishop Ireton (6-13, 1-10) battled WCAC heavyweight Gonzaga (18-4, 10-2) for 4 quarters and the Eagles would need an extra session for the second straight game to win, 71-67 in Washington. After the Cardinals came out of the locker room strong, taking a 5-0 lead, Gonzaga slowly worked its way back and tied the contest at 15 after one period.
The clubs stood toe-to-toe in the second session, with Patrick Hanafin carrying the Cardinals in the offensive zone, 16 of his 20 points came in the first half; the teams went to the locker room with the purple and white clan home team up 35-30.
The struggle continued through the third period, setting up the dramatics of the final period. With 6:50 left to play in the game and Ireton trailing 44-43, Hanafin went to the bench with his fourth foul. But by that stage, Hayes and Rouse had stepped up on the scoring front, while senior Marvin Elliott’s defense and the strong play on the glass by junior Tommy Gallinaro were keeping the Cardinals in the ballgame.
The teams traded baskets until Gonzaga held the ball for more than two minutes again the Ireton 2-3 zone defense, before Cedric Lindsey’s layup gave the home squad a 55-49 advantage. Hanafin and Antonio Rouse led the Cardinal counterattack cutting the deficit to 56-54. Williams drained a pair of free throws to give Gonzaga a 58-54 lead with :48 remaining in the contest.
Gonzaga’s Thorton fouled Rouse, who made a pair of free throws to again draw Ireton within two, 58-56. Marcus Hayes became the first of three Cardinals to foul out when he left at :26 mark, but the Eagles missed both free throws, leaving Gonzaga with a 61-56 bulge. Another Rouse driving layup made it 61-58, Ireton fouled Cedric Lindsey who made both free throws with only :07 left on the clock to up the lead to 63-60, setting up Rouse’s heroics. The Cardinals in bounded the ball and Rouse fought through tight Eagles’ defense and threw up a tough shot just beyond the 3 point arc that was nothing but net as time expired to knot the contest at 63 all.
With Hanafin and Hayes fouled out, the Cardinals headed to overtime. Williams scored for Gonzaga. After an Ireton turnover, the Eagles again spread the floor against the Ireton zone. Cardinal skipper Neil Berkman apparently liked the Eagles’ strategy and the Cardinals sat back in the zone as time ran off the clock, Ireton again staying within one possession of the lead. When Gonzaga attacked the basket Marvin Elliott fouled out, and Lindsey made a pair of free throws to push Gonzaga out to 69-65. Rouse answered for Ireton, but Lemmons made a pair of free throws in the game’s final seconds to secure the Gonzaga win.
“Patrick again played a great game, but Marcus Hayes really ran the club for us today and Antonio played exceptionally well” said Ireton’s head coach, Neil Berkman after the game. “Tommy Gallinaro has just become a warrior for us in the paint, and again Marvin Elliott’s defense, with those key steals; I can’t say enough about how well the team is playing right now, especially these last two games on the road.” The need for strong play continues as Good Counsel makes its annual visit to Alexandria on Tuesday, tip off of the varsity contest is scheduled for 7:30pm before the club heads back on the road to Bishop McNamara on Friday.
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