Red hot Xaverian was going for its 10th-straight victory last Friday night, but poor free-throw shooting brought the winning streak to an end.
The Clippers ended the game just seven-for-23 from the free throw line, but it still held a two-point lead over Holy Cross with 13 seconds left. That was enough time for a buzzer-beating three-pointer by Christian Wilson to break Xaverian’s heart and streak 48–47 in Catholic High School Athletic Association Class AA boys’ basketball at Holy Cross Jan. 16.
“Our free-throw shooting affected the game by 16 points,” said Xaverian coach Jack Alesi. “It was the whole game. We are not usually a bad free-throw shooting team. But when those things happen, they tend to snowball. I thought we were going to pull it out by hitting our free throws in the fourth quarter.”
The final play didn’t come without controversy however. Holy Cross threw the ball to half court and called time out, but the clock did not start. Two seconds were taken off the clock and Holy Cross was given the ball at half court. Alesi believes the ruling was incorrect and plans on protesting the game to the league.
“The clock didn’t start and the ball was supposed to be taken out under the basket, but they gave it to Holy Cross at half court, and by rule that is not supposed to happen,” Alesi said.
The game was decided in the last two minutes. Xaverian had a chance to put Holy Cross in a big hole, but they missed three-straight one-and-one attempts from the line.
Holy Cross struggled to capitalize, and was still down 46–45 as Xaverian’s senior forward Sayon Charles stepped to the line and made two free throws. The second was disallowed because of a lane violation, and that set the stage for Wilson’s heroics.
Senior forward Najee Larcher’s 15 points led Xaverian. Charles chipped in 12. Jermaine Bishop paced Holy Cross with 15 points and Jamael Horton added 13.
Xaverian’s size was a problem for Holy Cross (8–7, 4–4) to defend early in the game because Knights starting forward Gerald Buncum was put in early foul trouble and sent to the bench. But the Clippers couldn’t seize the opportunities at the free-throw line, going zero-for-6 in the quarter, and trailed 15–14 at the end of the first quarter.
Xaverian (12–3, 6–3) started the second quarter on a 7–2 run and seemed like it had figured out the Holy Cross defense, but free-throw troubles again kept the Clippers from building on it. Holy Cross traded basket for basket with them and the Knights took a 39–38 lead into the fourth.
The Clippers bounced back after the loss with a win over Mount St. Michael, though, and had already established themselves as a team to be reckoned with during its 10-win run. Xaverian beat two-time defending city champion Christ the King and Iona Prep during the streak.
