Cardinal O’Hara’s Izaiah Pasha goes in for a dunk over Bonner & Prendie’s Jamel Hicks in the first half Wednesday night. (Pete Bannan – MediaNews Group)
By Matthew DeGeorge
It wasn’t long into the third quarter Wednesday night that Izaiah Pasha picked up his third personal foul. The moment could’ve placed the Catholic League first-round game between Cardinal O’Hara and Bonner & Prendergast on a knife’s edge.
Bonner & Prendie, chasing the whole game, was within eight. O’Hara was one hand-check away from having to play without its point guard and do-everything creator. The same conundrum hit later in the quarter when Pearse McGuinn, limited by foul trouble in the first half, was whistled for his third.
But in tune with his maturing team, O’Hara coach Ryan Nemetz kept both players on the floor. And he let them lead O’Hara to the Catholic League quarterfinals. McGuinn scored 11 of his 16 points in the third, then Pasha supplied 12 of his 18 in the fourth as seven-seed O’Hara held off No. 10 Bonner, 69-60.
The first possession after Pasha’s third foul was telling. Two free throws from Deuce Ketner brought Bonner to within 34-26. Pasha responded by driving to the arc and flipping a pass over his head to McGuinn in the left corner to can a 3-pointer.