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Patriots shoot hoops for Haiti
Photo Credit: Katie Doherty
On January 26, the Patriots were victorious over Cardinal Gibbons and used the game to raise money for Haiti.
Written by Daniel Gallen, Editor in Chief
The Patriots got out to a slow start on Wednesday night, but rebounded behind the stellar play of junior guards Malcolm McMillan and Ronald Scott, defeating the Cardinal Gibbons Crusaders 52-49 in a hard-fought MIAA A Conference matchup.
Scott led the Patriots (7-16, 4-5 MIAA A Conference) with a game-high 22 points, while McMillan was close behind with 19 to help the Patriots overcome an early deficit and push the Crusaders (9-11, 1-7) farther out of the playoff picture in the A Conference.
The Patriots fell behind early in the first quarter, facing a 12-3 deficit late in the first quarter before closing the gap to 12-7 at the end of the period. Senior Dylon Cormier started off with a hot hand for Cardinal Gibbons, scoring 10 points in the first quarter. Cormier and his Gibbons teammates used quick, crisp passing, along with various backdoor cuts to pile up the points early.
Between the last minutes of the first quarter and first four minutes of the second quarter, the Patriots went on a 10-0 run to take the lead from Gibbons at 13-12. However, Cormier converted a three-point play after driving inside and making a basket before being fouled by freshman forward Christian Owona to put the Crusaders ahead 15-13, and the score at halftime was 19-15.
In the first half, Cormier lead the Crusaders with 13 of the 19 points, while McMillan had six points and Scott had five points for Patriots.
At halftime, the tone of the evening took a turn, as the fundraiser for the people of Haiti got into full swing. First was a dribble and shoot contest between four young boys, and after them was a performance by the cheerleaders from St. Margaret’s School. The game was used as an opportunity to showcase the relationship between JC and St. Margaret’s while also raising money for the victims of the earthquake in Haiti.
The main event of halftime was the first annual “John Carroll vs. St. Margaret’s Charity Stripe” competition. In this, each organization sent teams of four people to participate in a friendly free throw competition. The JC representation consisted of Secretary Susan Strawbridge, Guidance Counselor Carrie Siemsen, Vice Principal Gary Scholl, and History teacher Rodney Johnson. The St. Margaret’s delegation was Anna Shanahan, Doug Sharretts, Gary Stapleton, and Seminarian Steven Roth.
The competition was divided into four rounds where each contestant would take two free throws. The team with the most made free throws at the end of the competition would win. Sharretts and Scholl were matched up in the first round, where Sharretts missed both of his attempts and Scholl made one of two. In the second round, Roth missed his free throws, while Johnson was able to connect on one, giving JC a 2-0 lead going into the third round. However, Shanahan got St. Margaret’s back in the competition, tying the score at 2-2 with two free throws. Siemsen returned the favor, making one of her shots and spotting JC a 3-2 lead. Stapleton tied the score at 3-3, and Strawbridge was unable to make either of her shots, sending the competition to overtime.
In the first overtime, the teams sent Scholl and Stapleton out as their representatives. In the first round of overtime, both men missed their free throws, but after Stapleton missed his shot in the second round, Scholl connected, giving JC the win and a small trophy.
Johnson was particularly amiable about the event. “They used to call me ‘The Weatherman’ back in the day because I made it rain,” he said.
Scholl said, “When you’ve lived through all I’ve lived through, one foul shot isn’t that much.”
Spanish teacher Sandi Seiler offered her students a coupon for extra credit in her class for attending the game and supporting the earthquake victims in Haiti. “My students, particularly the freshmen, need to learn what it is to get involved,” she said. She also said offering the coupons helped her students get more involved in the JC community.
The night was deemed a success as it raised over $1,670 to give to Catholic Relief Services for Haiti Relief. At the beginning of the third quarter, the Patriots surrendered four points to Gibbons junior forward Erik Fisher, which allowed the Crusaders to increase their lead to 23-15, before Scott took over the quarter. Scott scored 11 points in the quarter to help tie the game at 29-29 heading into the final quarter. Scott dialed up his long distance game, making two three-pointers and being fouled on another attempt and making all three free throws.
The Patriots scored six points in the first minute of the fourth quarter, never looking back again and continuing on to break the Crusaders. Scott kicked off the furious minute of play with a falling jump shot for two points, while McMillan scored on the next two Patriots possessions, putting the Patriots ahead 35-29 before Crusaders coach Jeff Cheevers called timeout.
Fisher added a bucket for the Crusaders out of the timeout, cutting the deficit to 35-31, but McMillan was fouled on the next trip down the floor and converted one of two free throws, giving the Patriots a five-point cushion.
On the Crusaders’ next possession, McMillan stole the ball, got out into the open floor, and threw down an electrifying dunk for a 38-31 lead. However, he immediately received a technical foul for hanging on the rim and Cormier made both free throws to keep the Patriot lead to five points.
Down the stretch, key scoring by McMillan, who had 11 points in the final frame, and Scott, along with key free throw shooting from sophomore guard Van Rolle and inside scoring and rebounding from junior forward KJ Hockaday helped keep the Crusaders at arm’s length.
“It just came to me,” McMillan said of his late-game scoring surge. “I went with the flow of the game and it slowed down and came to me.”
“Ronald and Malcolm know what to do at this time after playing twenty-some games,” said head coach Tony Martin. “They have to shoulder the burden night in and night out.”
Junior forward Jarred Jones, who Martin has called “arguably the team’s best player” saw his first action of the season inside of a minute left in the game, where he was substituted in for Hockaday to shoot two free throws. He made one of the two, his first point of the season, and gave the Patriots a 52-47 lead.
Martin said it was “exciting” to finally see Jones out on the floor, after Jones had been sidelined for much of the season because of various injuries.
Fisher tried to keep the Crusaders in the game, scoring 10 of his 16 points in the fourth quarter, including converting six of six free throw attempts in the last quarter. However, he could not do it himself. Cormier cooled off significantly from his fast start finishing with 18 points, but only scoring five points in the second half, and only recording two points in the fourth quarter.
After Scott and McMillan, Hockaday was the Patriots’ next leading scorer with four points.
Martin said he saw a “more cohesive unit” playing the game against Gibbons. “We are coming together as a team and believing,” he said.
“We kept fighting,” said McMillan. “Earlier in the year, we might have stopped playing, but tonight we kept fighting.”
The Patriots’ next game is their final non-league competition Thursday at 3:30 at home against Annapolis Area Christian School, who come into the game with a record of 6-13, including 4-6 in the MIAA B Conference.
The Patriots resume league play on Sunday, January 31 at Calvert Hall at 3:30 against the Cardinals, who are currently in control of third place in the A Conference with a league record of 6-2 and 15-4 overall.
Daniel Gallen can be reached for comment at dgallen@jcpatriot.com.
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