Team Detail
Boys Varsity BBall Defeats Bishop Ireton
On Tuesday evening the boys’ varsity basketball team traveled across town to face Bishop Ireton in an important early season VISAA match-up. The Cardinals are a member of the W.C.A.C., and also an eligible Division I state tournament team. Bishop Ireton is always well-coached, and their teams play hard and have some very skilled guards.
Early in the contest it looked as though the Maroon picked-up just where they left off at the Sleepy Thompson Tournament: A strong defensive effort combined with transition offense gave EHS an early lead. At the end of the first quarter Episcopal led Bishop Ireton 18-9. The second quarter was a good battle between these two squads. Bishop Ireton’s coaching staff made some adjustments against the Maroon zone, and they created better scoring opportunities in the half-court. EHS would continue to score the ball, but the game had settled into more of a half court contest, and that was more beneficial for the Cardinals. By halftime, Bishop Ireton had cut the EHS lead down to eight, and the score at the break was 32-24.
The Maroon started strong in the second half, and they extended the lead to twelve points just a few minutes into the third quarter. Bishop Ireton was faced with the shot-clock running down, and it was a great opportunity for EHS to get another stop, but a sharp-shooting guard from Ireton hit a deep three-point shot which put the home crowd into a frenzy. After a defensive stop by the Cardinals, the same guard came back down and knocked down another long triple. The momentum in the game began to shift in Bishop Ireton’s favor, and the Maroon were forced to call a timeout. After three quarters of play, EHS still held the lead, but it had been cut to four points; 42-38.
In the final quarter, Bishop Ireton continued their red-hot shooting, and they quickly erased the Maroon’s advantage. In the final few minutes of play, there were four important lead changes, and with 1:04 left on the clock Episcopal trailed Bishop Ireton 55-51. Episcopal ran a high ball-screen close to the top of the key, and Xavier Johnson '19 stepped behind the screen to nail a three-point shot to narrow the deficit to one point, 55-54. The Maroon quickly picked up in a full-court man-to-man defense, and although Bishop Ireton was able to move the ball to the front-court, Episcopal’s defense forced a loose ball that Asa Shannon' 19 recovered and he quickly called time-out. EHS had possession, but we were now out of time-out’s. The five players on the court executed the final offensive possession perfectly, and it led to a drive to the basket by Johnson who was able to score the ball and get fouled! After completing the three-point play, the Maroon led 57-55. Bishop Ireton moved the ball to the front court and called their final time-out. Great defense by the Maroon forced a Cardinals’ turnover on their final possession, and after recovering the ball, EHS eventually ended up with two more free-throws to “ice” the game. Episcopal won a terrific battle at Bishop Ireton by a final score of 59-55.
