The ball just wouldn’t drop.
The Bishop Loughlin boys basketball team had three chances at a game-tying bucket with just seconds on the clock, but couldn’t get a shot to fall, suffering a season-ending 65–62 loss to Cardinal Hayes in the Catholic High School Athletic Association “AA” semis on March 8.
It was a disappointing loss for a Lions squad that had set its sights on a city title this year after coming up short in the semis last season.
“They fought until the end and even there at the end, they believed that we’d pull it off,” said Loughlin coach Edwin Gonzalez. “We had the last opportunity and we just came up a little short.”
It was a game of runs for both squads — Loughlin, sparked by senior guard Tyrese Gafney, finished the first half on a 12-point streak — but neither team could seize any momentum.
The Lions saw a six-point halftime cushion dwindle in the early minutes of the third quarter as the Cardinal Hayes backcourt continued to hit jumpshot after jumpshot.
“They made a lot of shots and I thought we would have been better defensively,” Gonzalez said. “We lost our assignment sometimes and if you leave them wide-open, they’re going to hit their shots. They’re a pretty good three-point shooting team.”
Hayes jumped out to 10-point leads twice during the fourth quarter, but Loughlin refused to back down, making it a 63–57 game on a pair of Justin Champangie free throws with 48.9 seconds on the clock. The Lions continued to push the tempo, locking in on defense and forcing a handful of late-game Cardinals turnovers. The problem, however, was turning those turnovers into points.
“That’s what basketball is, a game of runs,” Gonzalez said. “They had theirs at the beginning of the third quarter. We missed a big shot when we were up six and that would have put us up nine; that changed the whole complexity of the game.”
Loughlin couldn’t capitalize after guard Markquis Nowell was whistled for a charge after picking off a Hayes pass with 29.3 seconds left. The team still had faith in the waning moments, sparked by Adrien Nunez, who drained a corner three to make it a one-point game with 19.7 seconds left. Hayes’ Mark Jackson couldn’t connect on either free throw on the ensuing possession and the Cardinals left the Lions just enough time to stage a final-second look at the basket.
Simply put, the shot didn’t fall. Three Loughlin players had a chance to tip it in, but the ball rimmed out and, for the second straight season, the Lions ended a title run on the outside looking in.
When it was over, the Lions couldn’t mask how much this loss hurt.
“I told the young kids, ‘Hey, we’re going in the right direction’,” Gonzalez said. “We can’t get over the hump, but at some point the basketball gods are going to be on our side. All we can do is just continue to play and play hard.
