The Archbishop Carroll varsity basketball team took down the Hawks of Saint Joseph’s Prep 70-68 on Monday night in the team’s first Philadelphia Catholic League game in 2023. Dean Newsome-Coleman led all scorers with 21 points, capped off by a miraculous over-the-shoulder layup at the buzzer to give the Patriots the win. 

Despite a slow start that saw Saint Joseph’s get out to an early 10-2 lead in the first and continue their hot shooting throughout the first half, the Pats wasted no time getting right back into it at they closed the Hawk lead to just six at the end of the first quarter. 

A combination of forced turnovers and points in transition brought Carroll to a stalemate with Saint Joseph’s in the second quarter, a trend that would prove persistent into the second half. 

As the deadlock continued late into the third quarter, the Hawks began to take a slight advantage as they boasted a seemingly impenetrable man-to-man defensive set that left the Patriots offense in shambles. However, after a few tick-tack fouls, Carroll was right back in it, and so was Coleman-Newsome, who drained back-to-back threes and forced a key turnover late in the fourth. After getting into the bonus with just a minute left, freshman Ian Williams downed four free throws to give the Pats a late advantage.

However, the blow-for-blow trend would continue as Prep drained two foul shots of their own to tie it all up at 68 a piece with only seven seconds remaining. Finally, after a missed shot from the wing, Coleman-Newsome would cap off an incredible night with an even more incredible shot as he dropped in an immaculate over the shoulder layup to beat the buzzer in and win the game for the Pats. 

With Monday’s win, Carroll is now 8-2 overall with a 1-0 record in PCL play, while Saint Joseph’s drops to 5-2, sustaining a 0-1 Catholic League standing.

The Patriots will head to Archbishop Wood this Friday night for a 7 p.m. tip with the Vikings (3-3, 0-1 PCL). Roll Pats!