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For more than a decade, fans have worn few frowns when supporting the boys’ basketball team at Ss. Neumann-Goretti High School, 1736 S. 10th St., so their sad countenances as Sunday’s first-half tilt against Archbishop Wood unfolded seemed as out of place as laughter at a funeral. Fortunately for the followers, the club overcame a double-digit deficit to down the visiting Vikings 82-77. The victory took the Saints to 14-1 overall and 6-1 against Catholic League competition ahead of tomorrow’s tussle versus Archbishop Carroll.
“We take pride in stopping guys, but we didn’t do a good job doing that in the beginning,” star guard Lamarr “Fresh” Kimble said of upsetting the guests’ upset plan. “We’re not going to get anywhere without defense, so that’s definitely the change that brought us back.”
The lone senior starter for coach Carl Arrigale, the All-Catholic selection ventured to the court knowing the afternoon matchup would not be short on emotions, as his institution held a pre-game ceremony for former assistant coach John Mosco, a Point Breeze native who helms Wood’s bench, to mark his return to South Philly. The second-year coach’s charges wanted to make the day doubly delightful for their leader and opened an early six-point edge courtesy of well-advised passes and shots.
“We know people want to beat us because of our background,” Kimble said of the six-time defending parochial champions. “It doesn’t matter who the matchup is, nobody is going to roll over for you in this league. We knew our best had to be better than theirs because we know their talent.”
The squads’ skills created a 20-20 score after the first quarter, with Kimble and junior guard Zane Martin accounting for 17 points. The Warminster-based Vikings, owners of an 11-3 overall ledger coming in, consistently confounded the Saints’ defense, with groans and unease apparent as they built a 39-28 cushion.
“We were out of it in the first half, especially me,” sophomore guard Quade Green, the unit’s leading sniper, said of having headed to the locker room down by four. “We know we had to concentrate and play our style of basketball to get the job done. I really wanted to show my commitment to this team because we’re five guys working toward one goal, and I like being one of the main guys.”
Arrigale has enjoyed mentoring many “main guys,” as evident through his collecting 10 out of the last 14 league plaques. Well aware of Mosco’s motivational savvy, the resident of the 2900 block of South 15th Street voiced concern over his athletes’ defensive breakdowns yet knew the team’s offensive potency could yield a thrilling second half.
“We had to get more intense,” Green said of plotting to prevent an extreme rarity, a league loss for the Saints, who since the 2008-’09 campaign have fallen only three times against fellow Catholic League members. “I know we felt compelled to go all out defensively because we knew that would likely generate some transition scores.”
Held to five points in the first half, Green made the third quarter a display of why he has already begun to attract college interest. With momentum maintaining its allegiance to the home team, the Saints continued to counter Wood buckets with their own to keep at bay any thoughts that the inside occurrences would end up as miserable as the external conditions brought on by the day’s rain. With 5:30 remaining in the third frame, the complexion of the contest changed immensely, as sophomore center Dhamir Cosby-Roundtree found a permanent spot on the bench after receiving a technical foul.
“That did give the game a different dynamic,” Kimble said of going to a five-guard rotation following the 6-foot-8 lane stopper’s departure. “We knew we had to make plays and get to the rim more often while also looking for outside shots.”
Kimble and Green led the rejuvenation, with the younger shooter generating 11 points to the upperclassman’s seven. A three-pointer by Green set off a tremendous eruption of enthusiasm among the Saints’ backers, as their heroes went up 58-50 and appeared to have vanquished the Vikings’ wishes for a winsome trip to South Philly. Behind senior Luke Connaghan, who would pace all scorers with 32 points, the guests would not go away, and each time that Neumann-Goretti seemed sure to assert its supremacy over the willing challengers, Mosco’s club again caused fans to adjust their seats.
“We’ve been in many close situations,” Kimble, who next year will look to be clutch as a Saint Joseph’s University roster member, said of staying focused and gaining another triumph for his bunch. “This was another one that we’re happy to say we came out of with a ‘W.’”
Thanks to solid free-throw shooting by the senior, who tallied 21 points, Green, who generated 24, Martin and junior guard Vaughn Covington, the aforementioned sad expressions became memories, with Arrigale offering an assessment of how the Saints can keep their zealots content.
“Our offense has the ability to be amazing when we trust ourselves,” the coach said. “Overall, on both sides, though, I think we can be so much better. I don’t want to be known as the guy whose players score so many points. I want to be the guy whose players stop the other teams from scoring.”
“I definitely agree with that,” Kimble added. “This is the time where we all need to step it up and have the confidence in ourselves and one another.”
Contact Managing Editor Joseph Myers at jmyers@southphillyreview.com or ext. 124.
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