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Sometimes it doesn’t take long for a game to change dramatically, and that was certinly the case on Monday night at St. Paul High.Playing against No. 21-seed Westbrook in the first round of the Class S state tournament for the second straight year, No. 12 St. Paul took the lead for good midway through the second quarter after a back-and-forth opening 12 minutes.
But the visiting Knights never left their horses, battling back to earn a chance to tie the game as Chris Cusano stepped to the line looking to complete a three-point play with 1:11 to go in the contest.
He missed that shot and 20 seconds later St. Paul’s Justin Gonzalez hit a shot while being fouled to push the Falcons’ lead back to three points. Gonzalez missed the “and one” part of the potential three-point play as well, but guard Chris Borea grabbed the long rebound to set up another shot, with Byron Jones putting back a rebound to give St. Paul a five-point lead with 46 seconds to go.
That swing proved fatal for Westbrook, which didn’t score again in the game as the Falcons flew away with a 57-49 victory.
“I really wasn’t expecting it to be this close,” Jones admitted, although he added that didn’t affect the way the Falcons played.
“It was surprising to see how scrappy they were, how much heart they had,” he said.
Westbrook led for much of the first quarter until Borea hit a 3-pointer with nine seconds remaining in the period and Jones added a free throw to give the Falcons a 17-15 advantage after eight minutes.
St. Paul led for most of the second quarter, but never by more than five points until the final minute of the period. The Falcons led 34-27 at halftime.
“Coach told us to focus on playing better defense, and that was probably the biggest turnaround in the second half,” Jones said. “Press defense, half-court defense, everything improved in the second half.”
Playing a more agressive defense to start the second half, St. Paul went on a 6-2 run to start the third quarter, building its biggest lead of the game at 40-29.
“Everything starts with defense. When you make good defensive stops, it’s easier to make the next basket or to get the next rebound,” Jones said.
St. Paul coach Steve Phelps said his players seemed to be trying to get the feel at the start of their state tournament opener.
“We were a little hesitant in the first half. We weren’t as aggressive,” he said. “Our defensive intensity improved in the second half.”
In the final few minutes of play, he added, “The guys really answered the challenge.”
As the No. 8 seed in last year’s tournament, St. Paul hosted Westbrook as the No. 25 seed and came away with a 56-44 victory. The Falcons went on to advance into the state semifinals.
Westbrook coach Bill Bernard jokingly said after the game that he’d rather not have to visit St. Paul again next year.
“Westbrook was a formidable opponent,” Phelps said. “I do think that they played very well. ... They shot the ball well, they played strong, and I think we played just a little bit better when we needed to.”
Phelps and Jones each credited Gonzalez (8 points, 6 rebounds) with being a difference maker in the game.
“He played very well. ... We really felt his presence tonight,” Phelps said.
The Falcons work on “read the rim” rebounding drills in practice, he said, and that practice seemed to pay off for the team as St. Paul grabbed the ball on many long-range offensive rebounds, especially at key moments late in the game.
“Our guards rebounded very aggressively in the fourth quarter,” Phelps said.
Jones admitted to getting a little nervous at the way Westbrook closed the gap late in the fourth quarter, but he said he knew a lot could happen in the final minute.
“Play confident,” he said. “That’s exactly what we did.”
Jones had a game-high 15 points, along with 12 rebounds, five steals and four assists in the contest. Borea had 13 points, while David Shaw netted 12 and provided a key spark in the third quarter with three steals and two assists in that period.
Westbrook (10-11) was led by Kenny Cusano’s 13 points.
St. Paul (13-9) advances to play at No. 5 Coginchaug (14-6) on Wednesday at 7 p.m. |
Athletics 
