It wasn’t a dramatic big basket or monster rebound that decided Monday’s tightly contested game between John Carroll and Boys’ Latin.
Instead, with the game tied going into the final minute, No. 5 John Carroll hit a couple of more free throws and then, in the final second, senior guard Caden Chinnia-Falline got a quick hand in on Ghavyne St. Pierre’s bid to get a a shot up at the basket.
The ball deflected out of bounds as the buzzer sounded, and the Patriots walked off with a 63-61 win over the No. 11 Lakers in a Maryland Interscholastic Athletic Association A Conference showdown.
John Carroll, which got a game-high 23 points from senior guard Aidan Able and 15 from Chinnia-Falline, improves to 11-6 and 2-3 in league play. Boys’ Latin falls to 10-5 and 2-4.
Down 60-58, the Patriots got a tying basket from Abel with 1:19 left before Chinnia-Falline made two of four free throws and Theartis Battle (11 points) added a point from the line. It was enough to get past the Lakers, who twice got to the basket but couldn’t finish at the end.
“I’m just proud of the fact that all the way down the stretch we had a lot of moments we could have put our heads down, but our guys stayed together and fought hard. Two good teams, good game and we took advantage of a chance to get away with one here,” John Carroll coach Seth Goldberg said. “I can go down the list with all my guys that when we needed something, they stepped up to give us the opportunity to have a chance at the end. That’s all we can ask for.”
Leading 62-61, the Patriots got a big stop and rebound from Battle, who was fouled with 5.8 seconds left. His one free throw doubled the lead and Chinnia-Falline made sure the score stayed that way.
Boys’ Latin junior guard Ghavyne Saint Pierre (15 points) got a step on Chinnia-Falline getting to the basket, but the latter recovered.
“He’s quick and kind of got the first step on me. But I didn’t give up on the play and I knew it was crunch time,” Chinnia-Falline said. “So I saw the ball, had to make a play and got my hand on it.”
The Lakers, who got a team-high 21 points from sophomore guard Darrell Davis, opened with an 8-0 lead keyed by consecutive 3-pointers by Noah Sulaiman (11 points) and Saint Pierre. But behind Able, the Patriots built the biggest lead of the game at 37-29 when Battle followed a miss midway through the third quarter.
With the Lakers out of sorts, Saint Pierre brought them back. He scored 10 of the home team’s first 12 points of the quarter and his 3 and ensuing steal and layup made it 41-37 with 3:53 left in the quarter.
The Lakers took a 48-46 lead into the fourth quarter, and a 3-pointer from Davis made it 58-53 with 4:11 to play. But the Patriots had the answers in the closing minutes to pull out the win. Chinnia-Falline hit a 3-pointer with 2:08 remaining to tie the game at 58 and then Able scored inside to tie the game at 60 a minute later.
Chinnia-Falline said his team’s experience paid off in the end.
“We’ve been together for three years now with the same main core,” he said. “So I would say our chemistry helped us. We just never gave up on each other, never got rattled and we stayed together through all the adversity to come out with the win.”
The Lakers look forward to the day when they have the experience to close out wins.
“We’re still trying to get over that hump, still learning how to win, still trying to learn how to close out close games,” Lakers coach Dom Milburn said. “Guys are listening, guys are running sets, guys are growing. But in this tough conference, things aren’t going to be given to you, so we got to earn it and deserve it. That was a tough one at the end, but we had a lot of good effort.”
John Carroll will travel to Loyola Blakefield on Wednesday for a 7 p.m. tilt while Boys’ Latin hosts Calvert Hall at 7:30 p.m. Friday.
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John Carroll — 18 15 13 17 — 63
Boys’ Latin — 22 7 19 13 — 61
JC — Abel 23, Chinnia-Falline 15, Battle 11, Lee 5, Herr 2, Johnson 2, Shoffner 3, Bailey 2
BL — Davis 21, Hopes 3, St. Pierre 15, Pridgen 7, Sulaiman 11, Grady 4