How did Bangor flip the script for title?
Slaters pull away from Notre Dame just 9 nights after falling
When Bangor lost to Notre Dame 84-76 on Feb. 17, Slaters coach Colin Kessler thought he’d see the Crusaders again. He said he’d have a few different strategic things to employ in the rematch.
Kessler and Bangor may have changed a few things for Friday night’s Colonial League championship game against Notre Dame, but what changed the most was the heart and passion the Slaters put out on the Moravian Academy gym floor.
In the first meeting, Bangor backed down when challenged. This time, their desire paid dividends.
Trailing 15-8 in the first quarter and for most of the first half, Bangor turned things around with a strong second half and pulled away to an 83-75 win for the program’s 10th Colonial League championship and sixth in nine years.
The Slaters outscored Notre Dame 8-1 over the final two minutes after a Logan Rickert 3-pointer got the Crusaders within 75-74. Bangor blew a 15-point lead in the previous meeing with Notre Dame, but put this one away at the foul line.
C.J. Miles and Gabe Zieba each scored 25 points and Miles went over 1,000 in his superb career.
But it was the contributions of less-heralded players such as sophomore Josh Giaquinto and junior Dan Heald who were instrumental in Bangor claiming its first league title since 2018 and denying Notre Dame its first league crown since 2014.
Giaquinto scored 19 points and Heald added 10 points, including six in the fourth quarter, and seven rebounds. Six of his rebounds were at the offensive end.
“There were a few tweaks, a few adjustments we made, but it’s all about the players,” Kessler, a second-year coach, said. “The players laid it all on the line and played very good defense. We wanted it badly. We wanted to bring the title back to Bangor where it belongs.”
The Slaters scored 45 points in the second half and held Notre Dame to its lowest total since since a 58-57 loss at Northwestern on Feb. 13.
Bangor also held Brendan Boyle, the league’s MVP, to 14 points and just two in the second half when Boyle was injured and briefly left the game. He was just 4-for-14 from the field and
“He was cramping up, he hurt his thumb the other night, but his heart probably hurts the
most right now,” Pat Boyle, the Notre Dame coach and Brendan’s father, said. “He’s devastated.”
In terms of who hurt his team the most, Boyle felt Zieba’s big first half, when he scored 14 points including 11 in the second quarter, was a key.
“We needed to do a better job on him,” Boyle said. “He drove hard to the basket and really overpowered us.”
Giaquinto, whose previous season and career-high was 18 against Southern Lehigh on Feb. 6, scored nine in the first half and then added eight in the third quarter when Bangor took several seven-point leads and led 60-58 entering the fourth quarter.
“Being a young sophomore I felt I had to step up and help the seniors get a Colonial League championship,” he said. “Notre Dame played very well and made us work for it. Our energy level was what kept us going. As a whole team, we played together and the coaches helped us out, too.”
Miles, who was a starter on Bangor teams that lost the last two Colonial League championship games to Southern Lehigh, said it was about overcoming adversity.
“It’s what we’ve had to get through all season,” he said. “I went into the second
half motivated and I wasn’t thinking about the missed shots in the first half [when he was 4-for-10 from the field] and just wanted to be a new player in the second half.”
But he emphasized it was hardly a one-man show.
“A complete team effort is what it takes on the offensive and defensive end in championship games,” Miles said. “That’s what we talked about before the game. This championship means so much to me as a senior, especially after we lost the past two championship games. Just going out as a champion in my senior year and bringing home a championship trophy to Bangor means everything.”
Stat of the night
Bangor outrebounded Notre Dame 39-23 and had 16 offensive rebounds. The Slaters were clearly stronger inside and got to the foul line for 13 more attempts than the Crusaders. One late trip to the line was set up by a technical foul assessed against Notre Dame for calling a timeout they didn’t have.
Quote of the night
“I told our guys that we need anything above your heads, Kessler said. “Just play your game and we did that tonight. “
What’s next
Bangor (12-3) will go for another championship when the District 11 Class 5A tournament begins next week. Since Pottsville Nativity beat Pottsville 57-49 for the Schuylkill League crown, the Slaters will get the No. 1 seed and won’t play until the 5A semis on March 6.
“No matter who we’re matched up with, we have to bring our ‘A’ game,” Kessler said. “It’s been a long time since we won a district title [1988]. That’s our next goal. We’re going to work very hard over the next few days to try to bring it home.”
Notre Dame (13-3) also has another chance at a championship. The Crusaders will be the No. 2 seed in Class 3A and are expected to host Pen Argyl in the quarterfinals on Thursday night.
“I told the guys that 32 teams in our area wanted to play tonight and we were one of the two who had the opportunity,” Boyle said. “We can feel sorry for ourselves tonight and maybe even tomorrow. But then we have to realize we have a huge opportunity ahead of us next week. Our season didn’t end. We still have an opportunity to do great things. I think the kids will realize that and they’ll come back to work on Monday.”