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BOYS' BASKETBALL: Strong Rebounding Lifts Neumann-Goretti into PCL Championship

By John Knebels Photos by Kathy Leister , 02/22/20, 11:30AM EST

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By: John Knebels

Videos/Photos: John Knebels, Rich Flanagan & Kathy Leister

Neumann-Goretti had just defeated Archbishop Ryan and had secured a date with Roman Catholic in the Catholic League basketball championship.

You would not have known it by their collective countenance.

“The goal is to win the whole thing,” said senior Jordan Hall. “You have to get past this part to have a chance at the next.”

In other words, the Saints’ 51-41 victory over Archbishop Ryan Feb. 19 at the Palestra was necessary – they will face the Cahillites 8:15 p.m. Feb. 24 at the Palestra – but hardly worth celebrating. Truth be told, N-G kind of played like that throughout the game, falling behind by 16-14 after one quarter, righting the ship with a 14-3 second, and then keeping the spirited but overwhelmed Raiders at bay.

 

Neumann-Goretti vs. Archbishop Ryan 2020 semifinal highlight video by Rich Flanagan:

The Saints’ unimpressive overall shooting – 18 for 48 from the floor, 7 for 26 from three-point land – was offset by their domination under the boards. N-G outrebounded Ryan by 36-27, but most of those supplied momentum killers, as the Raiders could draw no closer than seven points in the fourth quarter.

While the production of senior Hakim Byrd (nine points, four boards, four assists), senior Cameron Young (10 points and 14 rebounds), and junior Hysier Miller (14 points, four rebounds) proved pivotal, it was Hall’s overall presence that provided the key difference.

The St. Joseph’s University-bound power forward scored 12 points, corralled 11 rebounds, dished six assists, and thieved three steals.

“I’m 6-8, I gotta rebound,” said Hall with a smile. “When I don’t rebound, we don’t win.”

Neumann-Goretti coach Carl Arrigale applauded his players for making up for poor marksmanship with governance in the trenches. As he prepares for what he hopes will be his 11th coaching title – which would separate him from former Roman coach Dennis Seddon for the all-time mark – Arrigale will remind his troops that a similar shooting performance against the two-time defending champion Cahillites can’t be duplicated.

“It wasn’t one of our best games,” said Arrigale, who last won a title after capturing six straight from 2009 through 2014. “All in all, though, it’s the old saying – you don’t apologize for winning. It doesn’t matter how, just as long as you do. We have another game to play.

“This was one of our goals. Obviously, you want to close the deal, but you don’t have a chance to do that if you’re not there.”

During the regular season, Neumann-Goretti (20-4 overall) finished 12-2, good for the three seed in the mega-competitive Catholic League. One of their wins was a 77-69, double-overtime thriller over five-seed Roman on Jan. 17. But that game was at Neumann-Goretti, not the Palestra.

Hall said he doesn’t care where the two city rivals play.

Senior Cameron Young is excited to be facing rival Roman Catholic in the PCL championship:

Neumann-Goretti senior Jordan Hall talks about the importance of rebounding:

Neumann-Goretti coach Carl Arrigale was very pleased with the Saints' rebounding advantage:

“Against every opponent, we have to play with the same intensity every game,” said Hall. “It’s going to be crazy here. It’s gonna be crazy. You saw the Wood-Roman (semifinal)? This will be two times that. I promise. It’s huge, it’s huge.”

Finishing runner-up, said Hall, is simply not acceptable. The fact that Neumann-Goretti has the second-most league titles (20) to Roman’s 32, or that the Saints have been to the finals 10 of the past 12 years, doesn’t mean much, either.

“We need one this year,” said Hall. “We haven’t had one in a couple years. I haven’t won anything. I don’t think anyone on the team has. We want one. We’re here now. It’s time to win one.”

(Contact John Knebels at jknebels@gmail.com or on Twitter @johnknebels.)