Playing their second ranked opponent in as many days, Bishop Ireton (2-2) gave the visiting Maroon of Episcopal (3-0) all they could handle Tuesday night in a nailbiter, 55-50, a game that wasn’t decided until the final six seconds.
Patrick Hanafin took the Cardinals on his shoulders early, scoring 8 of the team’s first 13 points and dominating the defensive boards as Ireton built a 13-4 lead. Episcopal’s Arnaud Adala Moto and Sadiq Abubakar each drilled three pointers in the final 40 seconds of the first period to pull the favored visitors to 14-10.
That duo opened the second in a similar fashion and EHS had their first lead at 15-14, Ireton’s scoring drought lasted until the 5:03 mark when senior Matt Barnwell’s jumper pulled Ireton to 21-16. Antonio Rouse hit a lay up and Marcus Hayes scored on a layup and converted a free throw to push Ireton back into the lead at 22-21. The Cardinals worked the paint hard and converted free throws down the stretch to build a 29-24 halftime advantage.
Both teams battled throughout the third period with Ireton holding a 38-35 advantage entering the final round. Adala Moto drained a pair of free throws to close to 38-37, but Rouse’s attacks to the hoop sent him to the line and he responded with four free throws to give the redbirds a 42-37 advantage. The boarding school on Quaker Lane rallied immediately and took a 48-46 when Kethan Savage made a pair of free throws. Rouse worked his way to a layup at 1:05 left and closed the gap to 50-48. Abubakar took control of the glass at this point, with a put back at the :30 mark, only to see Rouse hit the last of his 18 points on the evening with :08.2 remaining and Ireton down 52-50.
Savage was fouled with :06 left but missed the front end of the one-and-one. One final, critical time, Abubakar fought his way to the rebound, made a put back layup and converted the free throw to deliever a knockout 55-50 with four seconds remaining.
Ireton finishes its three-game home stand Friday with a tripleheader with Georgetown Prep. Frosh start at 4pm, JV 5:45, and varsity tilt at 7:30.
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