BROOKLYN, NY – The high school basketball season has barely gotten underway and the best game of the year may have already place on Friday evening at the Loughlin Lions gym. The NYCHoops.net #1 ranked team faced off against unranked Cardinal Hayes in a game that, on paper, should've been considered a pre-cooked meal ready for the Lions to simply unwrap and eat.
After all, the Cardinals are a young and rebuilding team while Bishop Loughlin is not only seasoned but led by two high Division I players. Add to that, four of five Hayes starters get fouled out late in the game and one would expect a tragic ending for the Bronx, NY high school. If you thought that, you’d be wrong. Through shear will and determination, Hayes stunned Loughlin in both the first half and second half to pull off an 87-84 win with the unlikeliest of heroes in the unlikeliest of circumstances.
With former Loughlin and current Seton star Kadeen Carrington on hand, head Coach Ed Gonzalez presented 6’3” Keith Williams ‘17 with a trophy for scoring over 1000 points before the start of the game. While it was a momentous occasion for the Cincinnati bound shooting guard, he was ironically unable to hit the side of a barn during the first half of the game. Williams poor shooting and early foul trouble by 5’8” point guard Markquis Nowell ‘18 put the kabash on the dynamic duo. 6’6” Justin Champangie ‘19 did somewhat fill the void left by Williams lack of first half offense but it would not be enough
Conversely, the Cardinals were firing on all cylinders motivated by a massive chip on its shoulders. 6’2” Tyrese Williams ‘18 was dropping three-balls like water, buoyed by offense from 5’10” Jontai Williams ‘18 and floor generalship from 5’10” Joe Toussaint ‘19. Haye’s defensive schemes took its toll on Loughlin early as a 12 -0 run followed shortly by a 10 – 0 run mushroomed into a 20-point half time deficit for the Loughlin. The silence was deafening as the Lions fans were shocked and unable to roar.
“We wanted to press [and] show them press and then back up to make them kill a little clock,” said Hayes head coach Joe Lods. “We tried to screw them up with zones. We played a little 2-2-1 back to 2-3. We played some 1- 2-2 back to 1-3-1. I just wanted to slow Markquis and Keith and make them think a little bit. I tell my kids when you think, you’re slower.”
Lods said that worked in the first half. Down 43 – 23 to start the second half, it was a given that Loughlin wasn’t going to go out like that and they didn’t. Stepping up the defensive pressure, Loughlin clamped down on the young Cardinals team. While Williams struggled offensively, he remained aggressive and got to the free-throw line often. 6’3” Tyrese Gaffney ‘17 also raised his game as did 6’5” Adrien Nunez ‘17 and Nowell. Loughlin began to rack up points while Hayes began to rank up fouls.
Pressure began to bust pipes and Loughlin cut the Cardinals lead down to 13 points but J. Williams and 6’2” Terry Dawkins ‘18 came up clutch to reextend the Cardinals advantage to 20 points to begin the fourth quarter. At this point, everything would have to go wrong for the Cardinals and everything would have to go right for the Lions to avoid the massive upset.
Hayes did their part in the scenario as they began to commit turnovers and attempt to take charges only to receive offensive foul charges. Midway through the fourth, four of Hayes five starters had fouled out including T. Williams and Toussaint. Only J. Williams and Dawkins were on the court along with players from their extended bench.
The Lions were on the attack in what looked like easy prey. A 14 – 2 run pulled Loughlin to within 6 points with 5:56 left in regulation but a basket inside by Dawkins followed by a three-ball by J. Williams staved off destruction for the Cardinals.
K. Williams finally found his offensive stride and Nowell drained free-throws that left the Lions only down 76-75 with 2:06 remaining. Once again, Hayes built a cushion as Dawkins went coast to coast for the keeper.
As time wound down, the Lions were on the precipice of redemption and with 57 second on the clock a jumper by Nunez gave the Lions its first lead in what felt like forever. Dawkins countered driving hard to the hole. Although he didn’t score he did draw the foul. There was one problem. The junior was injured and unable to take the foul shots.
Coach Lods went to the end of his bench for his designated shooter and chose 5’11” Jeffrey Ramirez ‘17. The lone senior, who hadn’t played all game, walked to the foul line and busted out both free-throws like he had ice water in his veins. Those free-throws along with a steal and a pass by Ramirez to J. Williams for the bucket gave Hayes the momentum it needed to pull off the three-point win.
“I’m a devout Catholic,” said Coach Lods. “I believe that God works in mysterious ways through people. Jeffrey originally didn’t make the team but I brought him back. I told him this is a great opportunity for you and at some point, you’re gonna help me.”
Lods said that when he looked down the bench to see who would make him two free-throws in place of Dawkins, God told him to put Jeffrey in the game. “God worked through me. I have faith in God. God put my faith in Jeffrey.”
"People doubted us, saying we were gonna lose so we had to show that we’re the better team,” said Dawkins who came through with much needed buckets at just the right time. “I felt that every time they had a run I had to score the ball to stop their momentum."
J. Williams paced the Cardinals with 26 points. Toussaint added 15 points with T. Williams and Dawkins contributing 14 points apiece. After being held scoreless in the first half, K. Williams led Loughlin with a game high 21 points with Nowell netting 20 points.
