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A loud, boisterous crowd filled the Blue Cross Arena on Wednesday night for the Bishop Kearney/Aquinas rematch. College coaches Jim Boeheim (Syracuse) and Jay Wright (Villanova) were court side keeping an eye on talented Kearney post players Chinoso Obokoh and Thomas Bryant.
A future Division I player stole the show, but he wasn’t wearing the Kings’ blue and white.
Aquinas guard Christian White tied his school record with seven three-pointers en route to a 27-point effort as the Lil’ Irish defeated the Kings 65-57 to complete a season sweep of their private school rivals. White, who will play at Monmouth beginning next year, scored 15 of his points in the fourth quarter.
“All of that confidence comes from my teammates,” White said. “They hit me in the right spots, and I was able to just keep shooting. I can’t do it without them.”
Aquinas took their first lead with 5:07 remaining in the fourth quarter when senior forward Phil Valenti buried a three-pointer. Valenti, who scored his 1,000th career point, finished with 23 points and 10 rebounds.
The Lil’ Irish momentum was short-lived as Kearney’s Redell Freeman converted a layup to give the Kings a 52-51 lead with 4:30 remaining. White knocked down a three-pointer to give Aquinas a two-point lead, one they wouldn’t relinquish.
White helped lock up the victory converting seven free throws in the final 2:14.
“We play hard, and we get defense stops when we need them,” said Valenti, who’s Lil’ Irish team has won seven straight over Kearney. “We start slow, but we know it is not how you start it is how you finish.”
The Aquinas winning streak against the Kings appeared in jeopardy as the Kings sprinted out to a 21-6 lead after the first quarter. Obokoh, who lead the Kings with 19 points, scored the first four points then had plenty of help from his talented perimeter teammates as they knocked down three three-pointers in the quarter.
“They played really well, and shot the ball really well,” said Mike Grosodonia, Lil’ Irish head coach. “Our game is to protect the paint. We had breakdowns and they started to get on the glass. Our kids are resilient, and they just keep playing.”
Kearney built their lead but Bryant and Obokoh struggled with foul trouble. Obokoh went to the bench with three with two minutes remaining in the first half, and White knocked down a three-pointer to end the second quarter cutting the deficit to 32-30.
A loud, boisterous crowd filled the Blue Cross Arena on Wednesday night for the Bishop Kearney/Aquinas rematch. College coaches Jim Boeheim (Syracuse) and Jay Wright (Villanova) were court side keeping an eye on talented Kearney post players Chinoso Obokoh and Thomas Bryant.
A future Division I player stole the show, but he wasn’t wearing the Kings’ blue and white.
Aquinas guard Christian White tied his school record with seven three-pointers en route to a 27-point effort as the Lil’ Irish defeated the Kings 65-57 to complete a season sweep of their private school rivals. White, who will play at Monmouth beginning next year, scored 15 of his points in the fourth quarter.
“All of that confidence comes from my teammates,” White said. “They hit me in the right spots, and I was able to just keep shooting. I can’t do it without them.”
Aquinas took their first lead with 5:07 remaining in the fourth quarter when senior forward Phil Valenti buried a three-pointer. Valenti, who scored his 1,000th career point, finished with 23 points and 10 rebounds.
The Lil’ Irish momentum was short-lived as Kearney’s Redell Freeman converted a layup to give the Kings a 52-51 lead with 4:30 remaining. White knocked down a three-pointer to give Aquinas a two-point lead, one they wouldn’t relinquish.
White helped lock up the victory converting seven free throws in the final 2:14.
“We play hard, and we get defense stops when we need them,” said Valenti, who’s Lil’ Irish team has won seven straight over Kearney. “We start slow, but we know it is not how you start it is how you finish.”
The Aquinas winning streak against the Kings appeared in jeopardy as the Kings sprinted out to a 21-6 lead after the first quarter. Obokoh, who lead the Kings with 19 points, scored the first four points then had plenty of help from his talented perimeter teammates as they knocked down three three-pointers in the quarter.
“They played really well, and shot the ball really well,” said Mike Grosodonia, Lil’ Irish head coach. “Our game is to protect the paint. We had breakdowns and they started to get on the glass. Our kids are resilient, and they just keep playing.”
Kearney built their lead but Bryant and Obokoh struggled with foul trouble. Obokoh went to the bench with three with two minutes remaining in the first half, and White knocked down a three-pointer to end the second quarter cutting the deficit to 32-30.
Bryant, who finished with 12 points, converted a three-point play to give the Kings an eight-point lead early in the third quarter. Aquinas cut into the lead, trailing 47-43 going into the fourth quarter.
The Lil’ Irish didn’t need to look very far for inspiration during their comeback. They overcame a double-digit deficit to defeat Kearney in the Class A state qualifier game last March.
“Christian shot it great, and we didn’t do a good job of finding him,” said Jon Boon, Kings head coach. “We had luck getting the ball inside in the second half and we stopped doing it. (Aquians) played with a passion tonight, they had a point to prove.”
