Everything was going to plan for the Christian Brothers Academy basketball team.
Then, everything went wrong.
The Brothers (23-1) made only three baskets over the final 14 minutes of regulation and overtime, which allowed Section VI champion Jamestown to pull out a 61-56 victory in last Saturday’s state Class AA semifinal game at the Glens Falls Civic Center.
We went a little stagnant on offense where we couldn’t get the ball in the hoop, and that’s the story of the game, said CBA coach Dave Doemel.
The Brothers led 39-31 late in the third quarter before they went ice cold from the field. Their only salvation in the fourth quarter and overtime came at the free throw line, where they made 10 out of their 11 foul shots.
While CBA went cold, Jaysean Paige heated up. The senior guard scored 14 of his game-high 23 points in the fourth quarter and overtime to help Jamestown (20-4) win.
`I thought Galal [Cancer] did a great job on him defensively,` said Doemel. `We were in good defensive position, but we couldn’t get a stop because they were more physical than us.`
CBA looked sharp in the first half against Jamestown. Senior guard Max Weaver drained a pair of three-pointers on his way to a 10-point performance in the half, and Chaz Lott came off the bench to score seven points as the Brothers took the lead.
It wasn’t a big lead, though. Jamestown made several mini runs to prevent the Brothers from building anything larger than a 10-point advantage. By halftime, CBA only had a 26-21 lead.
The Brothers tried again to put Jamestown away in the third quarter. A 7-0 run highlighted by Weaver’s third three-pointer and a Sha Cancer layup increased CBA’s led to eight points.
The younger Cancer’s layup proved to be one of the last baskets CBA made in the game. A combination of strong Jamestown defense and poor shot selection left the Brothers vulnerable to a Red Raider comeback.
`We had an opportunity to grow our lead, but we didn’t and that came back to bite us,` said Doemel.
Jamestown scored the final four points of the third quarter before opening the fourth quarter on an 8-0 run that gave it a 43-39 lead. Christian Leppanen temporarily stopped the bleeding for CBA with a fast break layup, but Paige drained a three-pointer to give the Red Raiders a five-point advantage.
CBA pulled even at the free throw line. Galal Cancer was true on a pair of free throws, and Leppanen converted a three-point play on a layup and foul shot to tie the game at 46.
Paige briefly gave Jamestown another lead with a long jump shot, but the elder Cancer got back to the foul line after being hacked driving to the basket. Cancer made both of his foul shots to tie the game at 48.
CBA got a key defensive stop when Paige missed a long jump shot with 38 seconds left. Weaver tracked down the rebound and bounced it off of Paige before going out of bounds to keep the ball in the Brothers’ possession.
Unfortunately for the Brothers, they couldn’t do anything with their next possession. They looked for an open shot, but there was none to be had before the 35-second shot clock expired. Jamestown got the ball back with 1.6 seconds left in regulation.
`We were supposed to get into a box [offensive] set on that play,` said Doemel. `Unfortunately, we had a lineup out there where they might not have known where to set themselves up. I should have called a timeout at that point, but I didn’t and I take full responsibility.`
Paige attempted a three-pointer as time expired in the fourth quarter, but the ball bounced off the rim to force overtime. That didn’t bother the Jamestown guard, though, as he made the Red Raiders’ first two shots in the extra period, including an emphatic alley-oop dunk that put his team ahead 52-48.
Paige fouled out with 1:05 left and Jamestown ahead 54-50, but CBA couldn’t take advantage of his absence as Darin Butts and Joey Campion took over for the Red Raiders. Butts drove for a layup, and Campion made five of his six free throws over the final minute to seal Jamestown’s victory.
Butts and Campion each scored 13 points to complement Paige’s 23-point, 14-rebound day for Jamestown. Weaver and Leppanen each netted 13 points to lead CBA, while Cancer finished with 11 points and Joe Krong added 10 points.
It was a disappointing end to CBA’s quest for a second straight state title, but Doemel said his team had nothing to be ashamed of.
`The senior class accomplished a lot here at CBA. I feel it’s been a privilege to have coached them,` said Doemel.“