Rich Flanagan (@richflanagan33)
WYNCOTE, PA - Seth Lundy recalls the despair and disappointment he felt in 2017.
The Roman Catholic sophomore was a starter on a team that fell to Neumann-Goretti by 11 points in the Philadelphia Catholic League semifinals. Not much of a shocker to a Saints’ team led Kentucky commit Quade Green and Villanova commit Dhamir Cosby-Roundtree. The shock of the season came in the opening round of the Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association Class 6A Tournament against Perkiomen Valley. The Vikings pulled off the biggest upset of that tournament on its first day by taking down the Cahillites, who had won a state title the last two seasons, by two points.
Roman Catholic senior Seth Lundy - PSD Photo by Zamani Feelings
That was Lundy’s first true taste of losing at Roman Catholic and he still remembers it vividly. His attitude and demeanor toward the final outcome of a game has changed and the idea of losing has become something that he strives to keep at bay.
“As a team, we put too much pressure on ourselves,” Lundy said. “I feel like that, but we have to stop that. It’s something we’ve been working on. With playoffs, it’s crunch time so we have to change the season around now.”
As a junior, the Cahillites won the PCL championship, their third in four seasons, but fell to Abraham Lincoln in the PIAA District 12 Class 6A title game. They ran through the 6A state tournament and got revenge on the Railsplitters in the state championship. It was two crowns for Lundy and the Cahillites after coming up empty in his sophomore season.
The mentality change that he developed after the loss to Perkiomen Valley has helped spearhead he and his Roman Catholic teammates over the last two seasons. The Pa. All-State Class 6A First Team selection and Penn State commit notes that his team has become accustomed to playing games which wind down to the last, few possessions.
“We’ve been through this before and we know what it takes to win,” Lundy said. “We’re going to go out there and do it.”
Being able to make clutch plays at the end of the game was never more evident than in Roman Catholic’s 57-53 win over Bishop McDevitt on Sunday. With his team leading 52-51 with under a minute remaining and Bishop McDevitt in the bonus, the Cahillites brought the ball into the frontcourt. Hakim Hart (St. Joseph’s) missed from straight away but there was a scramble for the ball. Multiple players tried to corral but after a quick scramble Lundy emerged to the basketball and saved it to freshman Justice Williams before it went out of bounds.
Williams nailed both free-throw attempts to give his team a three-point. The Cahillites last 11 points were at the line with Williams (11 points) hitting four of them. The win locked up the top seed in the PCL playoffs for Roman Catholic (18-4, 13-1 Philadelphia Catholic League) for the first time since 2014.
Lundy, 13 points and four rebounds, has been on this journey with head coach Matt Griffin since the former St. Joe’s Prep standout began his first season in 2016.
“Seth has gone from a freshman who was the biggest guy on the team to now a strong, athletic wing who can knock down shots from the perimeter, drive to the basket and guard one through five, but what I’m most proud of is his leadership and maturity level,” Griffin said. “A lot of times what people get to see on game day I get to see and be a part of in practice.”
Roman senior Seth Lundy's rebound sealed the victory for the Cahillites:
Roman senior Hakim Hart hits a deep three:
Tough finish off the inbound by Roman freshman Justice Williams:
Following Williams’ two free throws, the Lancers had an opportunity to tie the game on a corner three-pointer from junior Jamil Manigo but he hit the back of the iron and Hart corralled the rebound. Hart, who finished with 19 points and seven rebounds, drilled 1-of-2 from the line to give Roman Catholic a three-point lead. Williams hit two more free throws on the ensuing possession and that iced the game for the Cahillites.
In a game where the largest lead by either team was eight, which was by Bishop McDevitt in the first quarter, there was a lot of back and forth between two of the top three teams in the PCL. Robert Smith led the Lancers with 19 points including 11 in the third quarter. He hit three consecutive treys, the last of which gave the Lancers (17-5, 11-3) a 32-30 lead with 4:27 remaining. After averaging 18.5 points per game in wins over Neumann-Goretti and Bonner-Prendergast in the past week, Smith was locked in and nearly carried his team to a victory over the defending PCL champs.
Manigo had nine points and 10 rebounds and senior Seneca Willoughby nailed three triples in the game including his last one which cut the Roman Catholic deficit to 43-41. On the next possession, sixth man Shamir Mosley knocked down two free throws for his only points of the game which tied the game. Smith converted an and-one past 6-9 freshman forward Jalen Duren, one of several tough finishes he tallied. He hit two foul shots of his own and McDevitt led 47-43.
Just as they have so many times this year, Roman Catholic went to its upperclassmen. While Duren (12 points, 14 rebounds, four blocks) was being shadowed by Manigo and backup forward Kevin Young, Griffin relied on Hart and Lundy to deliver with starting point guard Lynn Greer III out for his third straight game with an ankle injury. Hart drilled home his third trey of the day to cut the lead to one point with 4:20 left to play. He added two free throws two possessions later.
Finally, Lundy found his opportunity to put the finishing touches of a gritty victory with his offensive rebound before finishing Williams to close things out from the charity stripe. Griffin praised McDevitt for giving the Cahillites its toughest outing to date, but he stressed the importance of what his team has been able to do in crunch time this season.
“A lot of times these games are so close down the stretch,” Griffin said.
McDevitt senior Seneca Willoughby hits a clutch three:
Roman freshman Jalen Duren gets an inside basket:
Bishop McDevitt's Ahmir Harris has his floater tipped by Duren but Jamil Manigo is there for the finish:
“It comes down to your players and we have great players. We have tough kids and they make winning plays. I credit McDevitt with the way that they played. I thought they had a terrific game plan. They played really hard and together on their home floor, which is a really tough play to win. I was proud of our guys for staying together in the second half and fighting through it.”
Falling in the state tournament in 2017 is something Lundy may never let down but it’s his driving force whenever he steps out on the court with his Roman Catholic teammates. It has helped his team rewrite their story, so the lasting impression ends with PCL and state titles, just as it did last year. He’s hoping to add one more chapter as the playoffs tipoff on Friday.
“I’ve been in situations like that since I was a freshman and what it comes down to,” Lundy said. “We’re maturing as the season goes on, which is a positive. We want to be playing our best basketball right now.”
Looking Ahead: Roman Catholic will host a PCL quarterfinal game at Temple University's McGonigle Hall (Located at Broad St. & Montgomery Ave.) on Friday, Feb. 15 at 3:45 P.M. Also on Friday, No. 3 Bishop McDevitt will host No. 6 Archbishop Wood at 7 P.M.