CNI-MPCD-boys-hoops

If NISH entered the quarterfinals as the favorites, it was exactly the opposite for the Panthers.

After defeating No. 7 seed St. Charles 28-25 in the second round of the Select Division III playoffs, the No. 10 seeded Panthers knew they would need another miracle to pick up a second upset on the road to Marsh Madness.

Away from home against No. 2 seed Metairie Park Country Day, Catholic High delivered a 46-40 win that will go down in history.

After holding the Cajuns to just five points in the first quarter, Catholic High entered halftime with a narrow 17-15 lead over the Cajuns.

“We held them to just two points until about two minutes left in the first period,” said head coach Casey McGrew. “We actually forced them to call an early timeout.”

After a low-scoring victory over St. Charles in the second round, Catholic High knew they had what it takes to win a defensive slugfest. McGrew said that the gameplan for Country Day centered on marking their star scorer out of the game.

“Against St. Charles, the game plan was to slow the game down. This game, our plan was to not let No. 33 kill us,” he explained. “That was their guy, he can score 30 points a game and I told them that we weren’t going to allow one guy to beat five. The guys stepped up, they really did.”

Country Day mounted an attack of their own after the halftime break, dropping 16 points on the Panthers to take the first definitive lead of the game. McGrew said that lopsided foul calls caught his team out of their rhythm, but he was able to get them back on track before the fourth quarter.

“We had some bad calls in the third quarter,” he said. “I don’t blame losses on refs, but you can kind of tell that it was really one-sided. They were letting a lot of things go, which I don’t mind, but you find that as the game progresses the fouls get harder. They were allowing those to go and the kids started to get a little aggravated and agitated. I think it messed with our psyche, but I called a timeout and regrouped and they never looked back.”

The answer to the Cajuns’ rally turned out to be sophomore guard Jaiden Mitchell, who stepped up when McGrew needed him the most to score eight fourth-quarter points.

“I looked at him when we had about four minutes left in the game and, not to discount anything that any of the other players did, but I looked at him and said ‘can I put the game on your shoulders?’ He looked at me and said ‘coach, I got it’ and I just said ‘go get it.’”

McGrew was also quick to mention several players who excelled in the game by sticking to the game plan.

“Chris Green stepped up and took big charges and he was a difference-maker,” said Mcgrew. “I told them at the beginning of the game that there was going to be one skill that was going to win the game, and that wasn’t going to be free throws or three-point shots. It was going to be taking a charge at the right time, and Chris Green did that. Kylen Chretien only had two points but he probably played 30 minutes of the game. He locked No. 33 up defensively. He boxed him out, got rebounds, all of it. That’s something that I preach to those kids all the time. They all want to be scorers but there’s just so much more to basketball than scoring.”

McGrew had to scramble to replace freshman forward Joab Trosclair, who was ejected in the third quarter of the game and will miss the Panthers’ semifinal contest.

“We finished the game without Joab, and he was pivotal for us in the beginning,” McGrew said of the freshman. “He slapped a few shots, he got rebounds and made some big buckets. That’s another role player that came in for us, Jake Lissard. In competitive games, Jake has probably played 10 minutes all season. He came in and did everything that he was supposed to do.”

The Panthers will now have to come up with another upset when they face off against No. 3 Calvary Baptist in the semifinals.

With just a few days before their next game, the Panthers are already focusing on getting ready for yet another challenging opponent.

“I’m waiting on permission (to practice on Sunday) right now, but I know that I can call this voluntary and I guarantee you that my guys are going to show up,” Mcgrew said of his team. “They know how important this is and they’re going to be there tomorrow.”

So far, the Panthers have upset the No. 7 and No. 2 teams in Select Division III. On Monday, they’ll need to have another perfect game if they want a chance to make it to the finals.

Despite the challenges that his team has faced in the postseason, McGrew said that he is happy that his team’s haven’t had an easy path to Marsh Madness.

We needed (a tough playoff schedule). We needed it for the players and for the school, to prove to them that we deserve to be here,” he said. “I told them this morning how proud I was of them. Everybody had a part in this win. Talent wins games, but effort and hustle wins championships. We have just proven that statement.”