At the end of the day as Holy Cross celebrated their 60--57 win over Bishop Loughlin it was left to Marquise Moore, who's been their best player, to sum up the situation succinctly when he said, "He stayed strong for us, he stayed strong for the team".
Staying strong could not have been easy for Knights' coach Paul Gilvary, whose mother passed away on Wednesday after a brief illness. With this in mind before I begin the game story I'd like to first extend condolences to both coach Gilvary and his brother Tim who serves as assistant athletic director at Holy Cross and plays a vital role in the operation of the CHSAA "AA" division as well. Their selfless work at Holy Cross and within the league has been vital to the education of children throughout the city. Thoughts and prayers go out to them as they mourn their loss.
Even in a championship game the young Lions came out with the same aggressiveness they showed while upsetting top seeded Christ the King on Wednesday. Behind Elisha Boone (18 points) Khadeen Carrington (16 points) and Mike Williams (13 points) the Lions sprinted to a 22-10 lead with just over four minutes left in the first half. But thanks to the Knights' ability to get Moore the ball in different scoring spots, and some key minutes off the bench from soph Josh Wallace the Knights trailed by just 28-24 at the half.
Moore, who finished with 25 points played as he has all year, scoring on drives and jumpers from the elbow and baseline. As the Lions kept fighting, Moore kept providing scoring answers and by the time the final period began the Knights led 41-39
The final quarter was a nip and tuck struggle but with the game tied at 50 Will Davis followed in a miss and Moore had two free throws to give Cross a 54-50 lead. But a great effort by Loughlin on the boards and four missed free throws by the Knights opened the door for the Lions. Carrington was fouled on a drive and made the first free throw to make the score 58-57. Coach Gilvary called timeout and Carrington missed the next one and on the scramble that ensued the arrow pointed the Knights way on a tie up. Moore was fouled and made both free ones for what would be the final margin. On their last possession with 2.6 seconds left the Lions threw the ball into Carrington, who let a shot go from beyond half court that hit the rim and drew a gasp from the audience.
Both teams are to be congratulated for a great final game and a great Diocesan Tournament. Both have well-earned byes into the intersectional quarter finals, and both will be tough outs in that tournament next week.
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