Hermitage defeats Cristo Rey in boys basketball with late-game defense

Defense & Run.

That’s the motto of the Hermitage High School boys basketball team.

If the Panthers ever forget it, which is highly unlikely because first-year head coach Richard Carter and his staff impress it upon them in no uncertain terms every single day, it’s written in white block letters on the back of their black warmup shirts for all the world to see.

When they square off against an opponent that adheres to the same philosophy and competes with the same style, what you get is an intense, no-holds-barred, scrum-filled 32 minutes in which the baseline-to-baseline action appears stuck on fast forward.

Such was the case Saturday afternoon when Carter’s guys faced Cristo Rey in the second annual Unity Hoops Classic contested in the Bryan Kane Gymnasium at Meadowbrook High.

The Panthers surged from the gate and led 18-5 after eight minutes, then spent three harrowing quarters fending off a determined challenge by the ever-resilient, never-quit Royals, then delivered two clutch, game-breaking plays in the final 25 seconds to escape with a skin-of-their-teeth 47-43 victory.

“We started out with energy and effort, harassed their guards, and rebounded pretty well in the first half,” said Carter. “They turned it around and made some corrections. Shout out to (Cristo Rey coach) Shawn (Johnson). That’s my guy. 

“They brought energy in the third quarter, cut into the lead, and made me do a few things different. Our guys executed down the stretch. We pulled it out.”

Running a 2-2-1 press that morphed into a 2-3 in the front court, the Panthers (7-7) forced six turnovers in the first quarter and seven in the second. Many resulted in offensive opportunities.

“We practice coming out with energy and try to win the first quarter,” said Hermitage point guard D’Anthony Mason (13 points). “Defense and run. That’s what we try to do every game.”

Playing an aggressive 1-2-2 zone, the VISAA, Division III Royals countered Hermitage’s high octane attack with a strong presence in the paint (25-19 rebounding edge) and contesting the perimeter but still trailed 30-18 at halftime.

The third quarter was all Cristo Rey.

Though Johnson had only six players available, he ordered them into a half court man-to-man and relied on his guys’ conditioning to carry them through to the end.

They responded with aplomb, playing as if they had nothing to lose and everything to gain.

“They came out and got a little more aggressive, and we smoked about 20 layups this game,” Carter said.  “We’ve got to finish those layups. Today when we weren’t finishing, they creeped right back in the game.”

Chipping away little-by-little, the Royals (9-8) closed to 32-27 when Contee Smithers (11 points) scored on a putback at 4:06. 

A jumper by Jordan Maples and bucket off an offensive rebound by Rod’Quel Carrington gave the Panthers a 36-27 lead at 2:50, but a 3-ball by Jemell Smith and five free throws (three by Smith, two by Scott) in six attempts enabled Cristo Rey to close to 36-35 heading into the fourth.

“We came out slow in the second half,” Mason said. “We doubted them as a team and what they could do to get back in the game. When it came down to it, we did what we had to do.”

Which was maintain their composure in the face of a Cristo Rey defensive effort that held them to just three free throws and nary a field goal for the first five minutes of the fourth period.

During that stretch, the Royals took a 39-38 lead at 5:32 on Smithers’ putback, increased it to 41-38 on Wilson’s transition layup off Smith’s deft pass, and, following Bryce Robinson’s free throw, to 43-39 when Scott scored from close range off Jason Pringle’s assist.

With three minutes remaining, the emotion palpable, and the crowd noise reverberating off the cinderblock walls, Robinson hit a jumper to cut the Panthers’ deficit to 43-41, and at 2:10, Myles Brooks (10 points) scored in transition off Robinson’s assist to forge a 43-all tie.

Then, amidst the fast-and-furious cacophony of action following a timeout, Maples put the Panthers up 45-43 with 25 seconds left when he scored from the paint off Mason’s pass from the perimeter.

“My head coach Rich drew up a good play,” Mason said. “We worked on it in practice. I knew the second time (we rotated the ball) around, their big was going to show. I told my big (Maples) to slip. I saw him and found him, and he made the layup.”

As the Royals inbounded and headed quickly upcourt, Javarius Thurston made a steal at midcourt and hit a layup at 0:15.7 to secure the victory.

“They (the Royals) definitely tried,” Mason said. “We needed this one, for sure.”

Hermitage shot 19-for-56 and Cristo Rey 13-for-45. The Royals outrebounded the Panthers 45-30. 

Herm forced 20 turnovers, Cristo Rey 12.

“All the conditioning we do in practice shows in the fourth quarter,” said Johnson, the Cristo Rey coach. “We train for these moments. 

“They (the Royals) gave it all they had. They played it down to the end. Every mistake we made, they capitalized, but I’m proud of these guys. They fought hard.”