Archbishop Carroll’s Tairi Ketner, center, shoots as Neumann-Goretti forwards Cameron Young, left, and Jordan Hall defend in the second quarter Monday. Ketner scored a team-high 18 points, but he fouled out in the fourth quarter of a 65-62 Carroll loss. (Pete Bannan/MediaNews Group)
By Matthew DeGeorge
With the Archbishop Carroll crowd into the game and Neumann-Goretti trailing by one point entering the fourth quarter Monday night, the Saints knew something needed to change.
They had weathered a Carroll charge in the third quarter, trailing by as many as four. But the game was being played at the controlled pace that favored the hosts, and the reliance on half-court offense was throwing off the Saints’ balance between aggression off the bounce and settling for jump shots.
In the final frame, though, the Saints did what they just seem to do every time their backs are against the wall: They adjusted, then they prevailed.
A pair of 3-pointers by Cameron Young put the Saints up for good, and the daring drives of Hysier Miller helped seal a 65-62 Catholic League decision over Carroll.