Loughlin Wins CHSAA B/Q Chip
FRESH MEADOW, NY - Everyone knows what the Bishop Loughlin guard tandem of Keith Williams '17 and Markquis Nowell '18 can do to opposing defenses, but everyone associated with the Lions program admitted that if they wanted to win the CHSAA Brooklyn/Queens Diocese Championship on Friday night over Archbishop Molloy, they would need big efforts from the rest of the team.
Many of the other players get overlooked at times because of how talented Williams and Nowell are, but in the biggest game of the season to date, each and every Bishop Loughlin player who took the court made big plays as the Lions were able to lead nearly the entire way to take the diocese title over the Stanners 79-67 at St. Francis Prep in Queens.
After the two Lions stars combined for 60 of the teams 77 points in their overtime semifinal win over Christ the King, Williams and Nowell both spoke to the team saying just how important their roles would be if they wanted to win a Diocesan Championship. They knew that they couldn't do it on their own, and Nowell said that even just prior the start of the game, they were still stressing the importance of the other Loughlin players coming to play in a major way.
"Keith and I just kept saying how they are all going to have to step up big if we want a championship. We needed them today, we needed them to really play the way we know they can," Nowell said.
Having lost to Molloy the two times they played them during the regular season, revenge was also a factor in this game. The Lions wanted to prove that they were capable, and able to beat the Stanners, and show that they are the tops in Brooklyn/Queens.
From the very start you could tell that the motivating factors that Nowell and Williams used to the rest of the team worked. First it was guard Jordan Thomas '17 scoring on a finish going to the rim, and then it was big man Jeremy Betjol '16 finishing around the tall size of the Stanners inside. Loughlin was getting early work from players that haven't always given it to them this season and it was paying off as the Lions were slowly starting to pull away late in the 1st quarter.
Adrien Nunez '17, a solid long range threat came on in the 2nd quarter as well to knock down a triple from the corner, and the players not named Williams and Nowell gave the Lions 25 points in the opening half, a tremendous performance early on for the underrated group.
That isn't to say the star duo weren't performing because they were knocking down clutch shots as well with Nowell again showing incredibly deep range knocking down an NBA range three late in the half, and with Williams scoring 13 points in the opening half, Loughlin was able to take a 43-30 lead into the half.
It was kind of a shock to see Molloy go down by so much in the early going. They didn't seem to be able to contain the transition offense that Bishop Loughlin was executing with, something Lions head coach Ed Gonzalez said was part of the game plan as he felt his team's speed to their advantage.
They clearly were able to do that as with Molloy star freshman guard Cole Anthony '19 struggling while playing with a bad stomach virus, the Loughlin lead continued to grow early in the second half.
A Nowell corner three with 2:41 to go in the 3rd gave the Lions a 64-42 lead, and the 5'9" guard said that was the first time he looked at the scoreboard the entire game, and it actually shocked him a bit to see that his team was up by so much.
"I kinda went wow because I didn't think we had that big of a lead," Nowell said. "I just didn't look at the scoreboard and when I finally did I was shocked."
His team was really taking it too Molloy in front of the packed standing room only crowd at St. Francis Prep as they took an 18 point lead into the 4th, and at that point with nothing to lose it seemed like the Stanners were starting to get a little confidence as with Isaac Grant '16 beginning to really take control in the paint, the lead was cut down to 12 at 66-54 midway through the final corner, but each time they needed a big shot the Lions were able to get it.
This time it was another unsung hero in Tyrese Gaffney '17 who would step up to the plate and connect on a corner three ball of his own as the strong play by the other Bishop Loughlin players continued to be a big part of the team's success throughout the night.
Molloy wouldn't allow Loughlin to put the game away, always hanging around trying to make it a single digit game late, but the Lions just had too much in the tank as they played one of their more complete games of the season and with the seconds ticking down Nowell threw the ball in the air as time expired and the celebration was on as for the second time in three years Bishop Loughlin were CHSAA Brooklyn/Queens Diocese Champions as they downed Archbishop Molloy on this night in convincing fashion, 79-67.
Williams led Bishop Loughlin in the championship win with 21 points, while Nowell added 20 points, but it was the efforts from players like Thomas who had 11 points, and Gaffney who contributed with 10 points that really allowed the Lions to take the title.
The unsung players who don't always get the attention they might deserve were the players who rose to the challenge, and it was those players that really made Gonzalez happy after the game.
"It was time for everyone else to step up because they are players also," Gonzalez said. "They really did come to play tonight and I am really grateful for them and really proud of them."
Everyone put forth a great effort for Bishop Loughlin as they would not be denied with a fantastic all-around performance, refusing to wilt and taking home the title.
It wasn't the performance that Archbishop Molloy was hoping for as Grant, who scored a game high 22 points, admitted that his team were hit early on by the strong start of Bishop Loughlin, and they were never able to respond.
Anthony's sickness was also an issue for Molloy as Stanners head coach Mike McCleary after the game said that the freshman was not in school on Friday because of the stomach virus that was not allowing him to keep down food, but the warrior that he is, he wanted to grind it out and do all he could for his team, though it wasn't enough to get the job done in this one.
Regardless of his health, the Lions looked like they just were not going to let anything stop them in their path of claiming the Diocesan Championship. It was goal number one on their list, but according to Williams they are far from done as even though this is a great feeling and accomplishment, there is still a bigger goal ahead that he and his Bishop Loughlin team are now focused on.
"It feels great to get this championship but we have one more to go. We want the city title and we are going to get back in the gym tomorrow and get back to work."
