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BOYS’ BASKETBALL: Bishop McDevitt Holds On to Defeat Neumann-Goretti and Advance to State Semifinals

By John Knebels, 03/18/19, 1:45AM EDT

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SPRINGFIELD, PA – Tweet. Tweet. Tweeeet.

In a PIAA Class 3A quarterfinal Saturday afternoon at Cardinal O’Hara High School, Bishop McDevitt defeated – tweet, tweet, tweeeet– Neumann-Goretti, 60-57, in a riveting contest that – tweet, tweet, tweeeet– remained in suspense until the final seconds.

Oh, pardon the interruption for those tweets. It’s just the sound reverberating through the craniums of the players, coaches, and fans that witnessed what could be accurately described as a foul-fest.

“Yeah, it’s hard to play through that sometimes,” said McDevitt junior Jamil Manigo, who scored a game-high 20 points. “But you have to put it out of your mind and play your game.”

Bishop McDevitt vs. Neumann-Goretti game highlights by John Knebels:

Neumann-Goretti’s last opportunity was a three-point shot from midcourt that was co-thwarted cleanly by Manigo and senior Seneca Willoughby but, shock of shocks, didn’t result in a foul call.

The rebound was corralled by junior Robert Smith and resulted in the final foul call of the contest.

Smith converted one of two from the line. N-G senior Chris Ings, who tallied a game-best 21 points, attempted an off-line desperation heave at the buzzer. Before Ings released, McDevitt coaches could be heard pleading, “No foul! No foul!” 

And who could blame them? Altogether, there were, gulp, 40 foul calls – 22 against McDevitt (21-7 record) and 18 against Neumann-Goretti (21-8). The former connected on 10 of 12 from the line; the Saints an astounding 22 of 25, included 15 alone by Ings.

The only thing the Lancers cared about in the end was that they had advanced to their first-ever state semifinal, 7:30, on March 19 vs. District 3 champ Trinity High (25-3) at the Geigle Complex in Reading.

“We’ve been through a lot,” said Smith, who scored 17 points and seemed as though he was everywhere. “We fell short of the Palestra. After we lost that game, we got through it and kept working and working.

“It’s all about mental toughness, it’s not always about the official. I knew the refs would be on their side. We had to fight through it and keep together.”

Tweet . . . Tweet . . . Tweeeet.

 

(John Knebels can be reached at Jknebels@gmail.com or on Twitter @johnknebels.)

 

McDevitt junior Robert Smith was a force all game long:

McDevitt's Jamil Manigo describes his approach to playing in a close game: