By: Jonathan Cohen
With just under three minutes left in the game, sophomore Noah Neville hit a 3-pointer that extended the Tigers’ lead to nine points. This was a pivotal moment down the stretch that helped the Tigers beat BC High 61-55 on Monday.
Coach Paul Connolly commended senior Mike Davis’ contributions to the team’s success. “Senior Michael Davis continues to be a force on the court. He has scored over 80 points to go along with 42 rebounds in 3 tournament games,” he said.
The whole team played well, and according to senior Nate Hollenberg, a captain with senior Michael Gately, “I think we are really playing good basketball right now, if we work hard and play together and play smart we are tough to beat.” It also helps that “sophomore Noah Neville, freshman Ezra Pemstein, and Gately have all stepped up,” he added.
The team is now in the sectional finals for the first time in a couple years. Last year in the sectional semifinals, the Tigers played against Catholic Memorial.
According to Hollenberg, “last year we had a big lead in the same game versus CM, and CM made a run, and we lost our poise. Then CM came back all the way and beat us. Last night we built another big lead, and BC High made a run, but this time we really kept our poise and didn’t panic and executed until the end,” he explained.
With the win, the Tigers play again tomorrow night at Newton South against Catholic Memorial starting at 6:30.
According to Gately, the team looks forward to playing “arguably the best team in the state.” He explained that defense would be the key, considering CM’s strong offense. “We must not allow CM to get any easy baskets. They have very talented scorers and those guys will make shots even when we play excellent defense,” he added.
Hollenberg said, “I think we just gotta keep doing the things we are doing and execute the gameplan that coach lines up for us. If we work hard and play together and play smart, we are tough to beat.”