By Jack Hooker
Editor-in-Chief
Additional reporting by Cameron Dubin and Brian Yoffe
After hitting a buzzer beater three-pointer to send the game into overtime, senior captain Geoffrey Gray (21 points) and the Lions lost to No. 5 Catholic Memorial 84-79 at home on Tuesday.
“I think we played very well,” Gray said. “We were patient against their press and exploited the areas of vulnerability.”
The Lions were able to penetrate CM’s athletic full court press, scoring buckets in the paint and maintaining the lead for the majority of the first half. Senior Jack Groper did a good job of guarding Dartmouth recruit Guilien Smith, while also scoring 12 points, including two from behind the arc in the first quarter.
“We have one of the bigger courts in the MIAA, and that helped us because it gave us more room to work against their press where they doubled and run and jumped,” Gray said.
The Lions, without senior forward Mark Karmiy due to an ankle sprain, trailed CM 38-37 after the Knights hit a half court shot in the final seconds of the first half.
“We were missing Mark who usually thrives in a game like that where it’s up tempo constantly fast breaking against a full court press,” Gray said. “We made up for it by being patient and not panicking.”
With two minutes remaining in the game and up by one point, the Lions handed the Knights the lead, committing three turnovers which CM capitalized on with transition buckets.
With less than 10 seconds left and down by a needed three point possession, the Lions called a timeout.
Out of desperation, Gray threw up a diving three-point shot, which banked off of the rectangle and sent the game into overtime.
“After I hit the three I was just ready to go for another four minutes,” Gray said. “I knew it wasn’t over and I just wanted to stay focused on prevailing in OT.”
Misunderstandings in transition defense that left CM wide open and giving up offensive rebounds led to the 84-79 overtime defeat, according to Gray.
Junior guard Alex Kiritsy (15 points) and sophomore center Sasha Hoban (13 points) played well on both sides of the court but not enough to send the Lions home without their second loss of the season.
South faces Acton-Boxboro at 6:45 p.m. in the field house on Friday and cross town rival Newton North on Saturday at the T.D. Garden in hopes of revenge from the loss they took earlier this season.
“As long as we can take care of those defensive things, which I think we will, we will be able to do more damage,” Gray said.
