The Archbishop Carroll varsity basketball team took down the Crusaders of the Father Judge 66-61 in the first round of the Philadelphia Catholic League playoffs. Senior Dean Coleman-Newsome led all scorers with 16 points, while freshman Ian Williams idled with 14. 

Coming off of a tough loss to Judge just a week earlier, Patriots Head Coach Francis Bowe had a tough love message headed into Wednesday’s win-or-go-home contest. 

“Obviously we just gotta play better than last time we went against them,” Bowe said. “We did a lot of little things wrong last time out and we have to better. Don’t make those mistakes and we can take care of this.”

One of the things the Pats struggled mightily with the last time they took on the Crusaders was getting into any type of offensive rhythm. That didn’t seem to be an issue during Wednesday’s game, especially early on as Carroll took an 8-2 lead midway through the first quarter, setting the tone for the entire game as the Pats would maintain an arms-length lead for the rest of the night. 

As the second quarter came and went, Carroll would continue to roll right through the Crusaders defense, capitalizing on a few lackadaisical turnovers and converting for points. By halftime the Pats led Judge 50-40 and headed into the most important half of their season to date. 

Even after a few early Carroll steals and some big time threes from Seamus Rogers, Judge was unwavering in its effort keeping the score close all the way through the third quarter of play. 

The fourth quarter, as it is in most PCL bouts, proved to be the closest of the night. The Crusaders closed the score to only two points in the last three minutes after a big time turnover from sophomore Jake West that was converted at the other end. However, after a complete take over from newly crowned All-Catholic Coleman-Newsome in the final two minutes, Judge was forced to foul and with about 40 seconds to go. The Carroll student section peppered the Judge sidelines with cries of “Na-Na-Na-Na Hey-Hey-Hey Goodbyeeeee.” 

With Wednesday’s win, Carroll advances to the second round of the Catholic League playoffs. The team will take on the Saints of Neumann-Gorretti this Friday in South Philadelphia. The Saints are the No. 1-ranked team in the state of Pennsylvania and hold the No. 1-seed in the Catholic League. It will no doubt be the Pats toughest contest to date.