NORTHEAST PHILADELPHIA- Father Judge triumphed over Archbishop Wood in a dramatic showdown in front of their rowdy home fans.
In a particularly interesting yet close first quarter, no one could predict the game's outcome. Judge's offense capitalized through "and one" three-point-plays and because of Marc Rodriguez’s hot streak, draining three point shots.
Wood retaliated with a pair of their own shots from beyond the arc from Colin Gillespie and Matt Cerruti, and quite a few foul shots, as Judge committed 6 fouls in the first quarter alone. Judge lead 12-11 at the beginning of the 2nd quarter.
Then, in the second quarter, Judge took-off. Wood made several errors, and Judge capitalized on every single one. The half ended 30-13 Judge. Judge committed 0 fouls, and Wood committed 4. It wasn't looking good for the Vikings. The 17-point deficit remained after the 3rd quarter as well, with Judge up 49-32.
Next, things got interesting.
Due to the situation at hand, Wood seemed to be playing the "hey offense, shoot threes and get us back in it" game, however, it wasn't working out.
Wood fired away from downtown over and over, but to no avail. But then, something got into the Wood offense. Cerruti attacked a handful of times, putting up points, along with Colin Gillespie and Tom Funk. The comeback began. Wood fans crossed their fingers, and neutral spectators took out their wallets, getting their five dollars ready. Wood brought it to within five points with two minutes to play.
Judge vs. Wood
Judge got a breakaway; Wood committed a shooting foul, but the ball still found the net; Judge went to the line for the "and one," and terror struck the Wood fans. A technical foul on the Wood coaching staff added two extra free throws and Judge sunk all three foul shots, completing the five-point play. Judge lead by ten, and rode the game out leading to a final score: 80-71, Crusaders.
"The five-point-play kind of ended the comeback. It was rough," said Tom Funk. The stats would agree with Funk, as in that 4th quarter, Wood put up 39 points. That was more points than they put up in their first, second, and third quarters combined, yet after Judge had that little burst, Wood's scoring virtually stopped.
"[The technical foul] definitely had an impact, but I think we would have made enough plays to keep that lead and win the game," said Judge's head coach Sean Tait.
Regardless, Judge got the "W" and Wood is on a three game losing streak.
Tonight, Father Judge takes on PCL powerhouse, Archbishop Carroll at Carroll at 7PM. Wood plays at home vs. Conwell-Egan starting at 7:30PM.