Curley coach Neil Berkman has his team in the MIAA B Conference semifinals after an opening round victory over Severn School Friday. The Friars next play defending conference champ St. Mary's in Annapolis.
by Alejandro DanoisArchbishop Curley advanced to the MIAA B Conference semifinals, outlasting
Severn School, 53-45, in a quarterfinal match Friday in front of a standing room only crowd at Curley’s Father Julian Memorial Gymnasium.
The Friars (19-7) will travel to Annapolis to take on defending champ
St. Mary’s, Tuesday evening at 6:30 p.m. The winner will play either
Mount Carmel or
St. Vincent Pallotti for the title, Feb. 24 at Towson University.
“We had some key rebounds and knocked down some crucial free throws in the second half,” said 6-foot-3 sophomore forward Stefon McCray, who led the Friars with 13 points. “We really focused, stepped up the defensive intensity and got some stops. Our big guys did a great job communicating and rebounding.”
Trailing 40-39 after Severn’s Marvin Smith hit a turnaround jumper in traffic, the Friars seized the lead on senior guard Brandon Carroll’s three point shot from the left wing with 5 minutes, 26 seconds remaining. McCray proceeded to convert a lay up attempt on the Friars ensuing possession.
The Admirals (14-11) answered right back when forward Will Smith’s free throw after a made lay up brought Severn within one, 44-43, at the 3:22 mark. McCray’s two free throws with 45.3 seconds left nudged Curley ahead, 49-45, before a steal by Carroll put the game away with 23 seconds left.
“We defended the perimeter, rebounded really well and made five less turnovers in the second half,” said Carroll. “Our younger guys stepped up and our post players played really well. It was a great team win.”
“We knew it would be a tight contest,” said Curley coach Neil Berkman, whose team dropped a 58-57 decision to Severn a couple of weeks ago at home. “Our guys were composed down the stretch because we’ve been here before and we were thinking about and expecting to win a close game.”
Curley grabbed their first lead of the game on guard Zach Scarbeth’s three pointer from the left corner with 3:12 left in the first quarter. Following a pair of free throws from Eric Franklin, who led the Friars with nine rebounds, Scarbeth connected again from long distance to push Curley ahead, 14-8.
Severn chipped away and stayed within striking distance until Marvin Smith’s lay up off of Cortez Duncan’s inbounds lob pass put the Admirals ahead, 23-22. The lead went back and forth until Carroll’s fourth quarter three-pointer put Curley ahead for good.
“Coach Duckett does a terrific job and we knew they’d be prepared,” said Berkman. “But this is the first home playoff game we’ve had in a long time and our players fed off of the crowd because our fans really helped us out.”
Severn was paced by the steady floor game and passing of guards Alex Testoff and Duncan. Marvin Smith led the Admirals with a game-high 16 points and Ben Montgomery chipped in to score 11.
“Both teams played really well and we played very hard,” said Severn coach Tank Duckett, “but they had more poise at the end of the game.”
MIAA B Conference playoff
Archbishop Curley 53, Severn School 45
Curley 16 12 9 16-53
Severn 14 12 10 9-45Severn: Testoff 3, Thurston 5, Duncan 3, Adams 2, W. Smith 5, Montgomery 11, M. Smith 16.
Archbishop Curley: Jennings 4, Scarbath 9, Carroll 11, Franklin 4, McCray 13, Petrides 5, Kobakhidze 7.
Halftime: Archbishop Curley 28, Severn School 26.