NW Catholic tops ND-WH

WEST HARTFORD — It was a long, and unexpected, layoff for the Northwest Catholic boys basketball team. The Lions blew a double-digit lead in the second half and lost at the buzzer to Conard on its home floor in the opening round of the CCC tournament. It was almost two weeks before Northwest Catholic played another postseason game. There was plenty of work being done behind closed doors, but also some time for some self-reflection.

“That was a hard two weeks, not because of the practices, but what they had to take and internalize,” Northwest Catholic coach John Mirabello said, adding that he told his players their character was being tested.

“Let’s see what you are made of,” he told them.

Northwest Catholic not only rebounded off that loss, it has played its way to the Mohegan Sun Arena for the second straight season. Second-seeded Northwest Catholic defeated No. 3 Notre DameWest Haven 73-61 in the CIAC Division I state semifinals at the University of Hartford’s Chase Family Arena Wednesday night.

“We were just focused on bouncing back (from the Conard loss). Coach Mirabello prepared us well for the game,” said London Jemison, who finished with 24 points. “It means a lot to get back there. We have unfinished business for sure.”

Said Mirabello: “I’m excited they get to play again. One more day.”

Northwest Catholic (21-3) will face No. 1 East Catholic, which defeated No. 4 Ridgefield 74-45, in the Division I championship game on Saturday or Sunday at the Mohegan Sun Arena.

Preston Fowler led East Catholic, the defending Division I state champion, with 22 points.

“They didn’t have an answer for us tonight,” Fowler said about Ridgefield. “It’s the second one (state championship game) in two years of high school.”

Last year, Northwest Catholic lost in the Division II final to another CCC team, Bristol Central. East Catholic won at Northwest Catholic on Feb. 14.

Northwest Catholic scored the first nine points of Wednesday’s game. Notre Dame was able to close the gap on several occasions, but was never able to tie the game.

“It wasn’t our night, that’s what it comes down to,” Notre Dame coach Jason Shea said. “Play those guys 10 times, it’s probably five and five. Tonight, it went down for them and it didn’t go down for us.”

The Green Knights (23-3) got within 21-20 early in the second quarter. They were within 27-24 when Northwest Catholic called for timeout with 3:18 left in the first half.

From there, Northwest Catholic scored the last 10 points of the half. Jemison had the last seven and the Lions led 37-24 at halftime.

“I thought that was the key part of the game,” Shea said. “I thought that was the difference for sure. It put us in a hole coming out in the second half, put a lot of pressure on us. We weren’t able to get a sustained run in the second half.”