St. Mary’s keeps its run going with regional semifinal win over U-D Jesuit
TROY >> Twelve seconds. That was about how long the capacity crowd at Troy High School held its collective breath Monday as Orchard Lake St. Mary’s made the final dozen seconds interesting with a late turnover that permitted Detroit U-D Jesuit to fire up two potential gametying 3-pointers.
But when both desperation shots clanged off the rim just ahead of the final buzzer, it left the Eaglets in front for a 72-69 victory in a Division 1 regional semifinal.
“It felt like 12 hours to me,” St. Mary’s coach Todd Covert said about the tense final seconds.
Just three days after knocking off Birmingham Brother Rice, the state’s topranked team, the Eaglets turned in another big performance against the No. 6-ranked Cubs, another familiar Catholic League Central Division opponent.
“The last couple games, the last couple weeks, we’ve been playing pretty well,” said Covert, whose team entered the postseason with an uncharacteristic sub-.500 record. “I know it’s cliche to say, but man did those kids step up to play for their school and play for each other. It’s what you have to do this time of year.”
Both teams held leads in the fourth quarter, with U-D Jesuit overtaking St. Mary’s early in the stanza before falling back down by as many as seven points moments later. A 67-67 tie with 1:46 remaining, the Eaglets converted 5-of-6 free throws down the stretch to appear in control, but a late basket by the Cubs’ Xavier Johnson made it a one-possession game again to set the stage for the last-second shots that nearly brought forth overtime.
The Eaglets (12-10) received stand-out performances from sophomores Trey McKenney (30 points, 12 rebounds) and Sharod Barnes (18 points), the latter of which had the tough assignment of guarding U-D Jesuit senior Sonny Wilson.
“He is an exceptionally talented kid. I’m just glad people are starting to see it,” Covert said of Barnes. “Sharod is an elite defender, but he showed how good of an offensive player he is tonight.”
Despite being bottled up at times, Wilson still did his fair share of damage with 28 points for the Cubs (20-5).
“He’s tough. Obviously, a Mr. Basketball candidate, super tough, a hard driver, physical, he’s tough,” Barnes said of Wilson. “It was a competitive game going against one of the best point guards in the state.”
St. Mary’s also received important contributions from junior Mason Wisniewski, who had nine points, and senior Jackson Wasylewski, who added seven points.
The Eaglets advanced to Wednesday’s regional final against North Farmington (22-1). Tip-off is set for 7 p.m. back at Troy High School.