By Laura Amato
They could only come up with two words – disappointed, but proud.
The Holy Cross boys basketball team did its best to stage a comeback, but the Knights couldn’t quite hold onto the lead down the stretch, falling to Cardinal Hayes 78-74 in the second round of the CHSAA intersectional playoffs on Wednesday.
It was, of course, a frustrating loss, particularly after the squad rallied to take the lead in the fourth quarter despite trailing by double digits at halftime.
“At halftime, we didn’t really talk tactic,” Knights coach Terry Tarpey said. “We talked about a lot of pride and showing what we’re made of. We said, ‘Guys, enough of the bad body language. They made a lot of shots, they got a lot of long rebounds and it’ll even out.’ We didn’t think we’d eventually tie it up, but we’re very proud of them.”
Holy Cross (13-14) couldn’t do much of anything in the first half, struggling to slow down the Cardinals’ outside shooting threats. Cardinal Hayes (18-8) connected on a whopping eight three-pointers in the opening 16 minutes of play and the Knights knew something had to change, drastically, if they were going to keep the game competitive.
The halftime speech worked and Holy Cross looked like a new team in the opening minutes of the third quarter. The Knights settled into a lock-down press, forcing Hayes into turnovers and quick looks and, most importantly, taking advantage of them on the scoreboard.
“They busted it on the press, they were moving their feet and trapping them,” Tarpey said. “They were make shots, shooting it with confidence and for young kids to do that when you’re down 19, down 15, in a big spot, says a lot about our guys.”
Holy Cross outscored Hayes 25-to-10 in the third quarter and took a 57-55 lead on an Elijah Perry three-pointer with seven minutes left on the clock. It was more than enough to leave Hayes searching for answers on both sides of the ball.
“At one point I think I lost consciousness there for a minute, because they were unconscious shooting the ball. What a tale of two halves,” said Hayes coach Joe Lods. “I guess coach Tarpey gives a better halftime speech than I do because we came out and laid an egg and they were riled up.”
Hassan Diarra made it a four-point lead for Holy Cross with just over three and a half minutes left, but Hayes found a second-gear in the waning minutes of the postseason matchup. Jontai Williams gave Hayes a lead it would never again surrender with 2:50 to play and the Knights weren’t ever able to recover. “When it came to the fourth quarter, we knew we had to pick it up,” Williams said. “It was a big game and they made their run, but we knew we had to come back and make our run.”
Holy Cross got as close as two, but the Knights couldn’t stage one, last comeback and the season-ending loss will sting for quite awhile. Still, the Knights were proud of what they did and, most importantly, the way their seniors performed down the stretch. The future is bright for the squad, but this game was for the upperclassmen.
“As much as I am excited about the future, a night like tonight is our seniors,” Tarpey said. “It’s tough, but we told them if there’s ever a way you go down, this is the way you go down.
