by Alejandro Danois
See video interviews below.
St. Vincent Pallotti High boys’ basketball claimed sole possession of second place in the MIAA B Conference South division, defeating Severn School , 55-41, Tuesday evening in Anne Arundel County.
Senior guard Anthony Cook scored 19 points to lead the Panthers (10-8 overall, 6-4 league), and sophomore Eric Washington posted 13 points and a game-high 26 rebounds. Ben Montgomery had nine points to lead Severn (9-9, 4-6).
Trailing by as many as 17 points in the second half, the Admirals got within five before Pallotti reasserted itself. Panthers coach Shae Johnson was pleased to get the win in Anne Arundel County playing most of the game without Leon Porter, who had flu-like symptoms.
“This is a hard building to play in, we were without our point guard and we had some silly turnovers early on,” said Johnson. “But we played with composure and did the things we needed to do as a team to win.”
Cook took control of the Panther offense in the second half, scoring 13 points. He opened the third quarter with a lay up, followed by an open court fast break dunk that put Pallotti ahead, 33-19. With four minutes left in the quarter, the Panthers were firmly in the driver’s seat at 37-20.
“At the beginning of the game, I was trying to get into the flow but as soon as I made some lay-ups,” said Cook, “I tried to continue getting to the rim and not settle for jump shots,” said Cook.
“Ryan put in a lot of work during the off season and he did what we needed him to do, and that’s go to the basket,†said Johnson. “He’s our leading scorer and second leading rebounder and he played very well tonight. And Eric had 26 rebounds, which is unheard of. He’s only a sophomore and he’s got a lot of skill work to do this summer, but he has a chance, by far, to be the greatest player I’ve ever coached.â€
Severn methodically inched back in the game, spurred by two baskets each by Marvin Smith and Montgomery. Alex Testoff’s three-pointer pulled the Admirals to within eight, before Cook’s lay up with 17 seconds left in the third put Pallotti back up by ten.
Severn’s determined defensive effort early in the fourth, augmented by Montgomery’s three pointer and Cortez Duncan’s lay-up, brought the Admirals to within, 39-34 with 5 minutes, 50 seconds remaining in regulation. But Jose Cavallo’s three-pointer from the left corner gave Pallotti some breathing room.
“When they made their run at the end, we didn’t want them to get any closer,†said Washington, who scored 10 points in the first half and successfully battled the taller Severn frontcourt. “I just kept telling myself that we were not going to lose this game and I came out from the beginning just hustling and trying to get as many rebounds as I could.â€
“We didn’t panic when they made their comeback,†said Cook. “We just needed everyone to slow down and play at our pace, instead of theirs. Once we did that, it was all good.â€
St. Vincent Pallotti 55, Severn 41
Pallotti 12 16 11 16-55
Severn 12 5 12 12-41
St. Vincent Pallotti: Flynn 6. Flowers 1, Cavallo 3, Cook 19, Riley 1, Dadonni 8, Woody 4, Washington 13.
Severn: Testoff 5, Thurston 2, Duncan 7, Adams 8, Smith 4, Montgomery 9, Smith 6.
Halftime: Pallotti 31, Severn 20.
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