On December 17th, McKinley debuted as the #2 ranked large school in the Buffalo News large school poll. Four days later, the sixth-ranked Marauders knocked them off. Then on December 24th, the second poll came out. St. Joe's had somehow slipped a spot, back to #7, while there was a new school holding down the number two spot. The new number two was Timon, who just happened to be hosting St. Joe's last night. Would another victory over a second-ranked large school drop St. Joe's to eighth in the poll? They seemed willing to find out.
In a game that saw 18 lead changes and eight ties, St. Joe's claimed a 59-55 victory over the host Tigers. For the Marauders, the victory marked the fifth consecutive year they picked up a road win in this series.
The game was back-and-forth the entire way, with each team taking turns riding the game's momentum. In the first half, the Marauders saw an 11-0 run answered by 10 straight points from the Tigers. Even when a 3-pointer from Justin Jones with just five seconds left in the half put St. Joe's up by three points, Timon responded with a buzzer-beater from downtown made by William Lamar to even the game at 25 each heading into the break.
The biggest lead for either squad in the third quarter was four points, held by Timon with under two minutes remaining in the stanza. A 7-2 scoring advantage for the Marauders over the final 90 seconds of the quarter took care of that and gave them a 42-41 lead heading into the fourth quarter.
Jones opened the final frame with a bucket for Joe's, and when Antonio Morreale followed that with his second trey of the game, the Marauders held their largest lead of the half, 47-41. Timon's Donte Williams, who had just one field goal through three quarters, responded to give the Tigers a late spark. He scored seven of his team-high 16 points over three-minute span in the fourth, including a swish from beyond the arc on the left side that moved Timon back in front, 52-50.
Over the final three minutes, the Tigers would score just once more, a trey from Kyler Hairston, while St. Joe's got a late basket from Jones and converted seven of eight free throw attempts, with Justin Hollins sinking five of them.
Timon had possesion with the shot clock off, down two points at the end of the game. The Tigers missed a couple of hotly contested shots in the paint and after a scramble for the ball, Williams was left lying on the court with a cut, while the Marauders had gained possession and drawn a foul with 10.6 seconds on the clock, where they would ice the game.
Jones finished the evening with a game-high 17 points for St. Joe's, while Hollins and Morreale each scored 13 points. Hairston and Derick Simpson each netted 15 points for the Tigers.
-centercourt
Comments