JAN. 28
CATHOLIC LEAGUE
Wood 65, Conwell-Egan 53
  Wow, wow and wow some more! It's now 11:30 and I still can't believe what happened in this game. Wood nailed its first EIGHT attempts from beyond the arc, all in the FIRST quarter. Think about it. There are many occasions when teams don't make eight consecutive layups in warmups. Yet, the Vikings succeeded again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again (that's eight agains, right? -- smile) from Three-Point Land with assorted hands in their faces. Well, not always in their faces, but at least nearby. At halftime, I called the office and asked statmaster Boop Vetrone if he had time to do some digging. Colleges don't play quarters, but the NBA does, of course, and here's what he found after flipping through the NBA record book. That league's record for threes in one quarter is 11 (accomplished four times). Guess what? Wood's sniping is more impressive!! NBA quarters are 12 minutes long. The high school versions are eight minutes. So, Wood averaged one trey per minute and no NBA team has ever done that! Jr. WG Pat Smith led the way with five triples while jr. PG Tommy Rush, sr. F-C Shane Neher and soph WG Cody Fitzpatrick added one apiece. In all, the Vikings launched nine treys in that quarter and the first and only miss was by Fitzpatrick with 1:14 remaining. Again, truly amazing! Smith added two more (in the fourth quarter) while finishing with 30 points. In all, he sniped 7-for-13 on treys. The team was 11-for-21 and the one not mentioned already was hit in the second quarter by jr. WG Eric Walsh, son of coach Jack Walsh. The interview with Smith focused solely on shooting and basketball in general for maybe the first five minutes, and then I asked whether he would like to discuss the recent passing of his father. He did and their relationship -- dad as demanding shooting instructor; son as willing and relentlessly dedicated pupil -- became the focal point of the story. Like everyone, let me wish Pat and his family the best of luck going forward, and I appreciate the fact that he felt comfortable enough to address the subject in depth . . . Meanwhile, at halftime there was something that could have produced an even more amazing development than the eight treys. Impossible, you say? Probably so, but have a listen, OK? Maybe 15 kids, who are already registered to attend C-E next school year, were given a chance to have their first-year tuition cut in half!! From roughly $6,000 to $3,000. "All" they had to do was hit a half-court shot. From behind a bunch of small orange cones, most did regular heaves while a few settled for baseball-type throws. Almost all shots missed badly. But one kid's effort -- Seth somebody? -- hit the right side of the rim. Phew! I was at the far end of the gym, taking pics. Doing the rebounding was C-E's athletic director, Ray O'Hara. After that one shot came close, I'm pretty sure Ray said, if I read his lips correctly, "Can you hear my heart?" As in, almost pounding its way through his chest (smile). The halftime score was 40-21, but C-E began the final 16 minutes with a nice, little run, fueled mostly by sr. CG Mike Kelly. He scored seven of his nine points in those early moments and the Eagles scrambled within eight. The drama was short-lived, however, and the lead was back to 14 by the end of the quarter. Smith added four rebounds and three blocked shots while two subs, soph F Luke Connaghan and sr. F T.J. Kuhar, were the rebound leaders with six and five, respectively. Rush distributed four assists. Freshman C Vinny Dalessandro (13) and frosh CG-F LaPri Pace (12) led C-E in scoring. Pace, in fact, posted all 10 of the Eagles' first quarter points. The late-game headliner was sr. F Uriah St. Lewis, who hustled for a pair of buckets. The gal who sang the National Anthem was incredible. Perfect rendition! The lighting in the gym was horrible. That'll soon be fixed, according to O'Hara and C-E's president, Janet Dollard. Also, the school is about start a sports Hall of Fame and info on that will soon be posted on the calendar page. As always, it was great to see former baseball boss Rich Papirio, who handles PA duties. Oh, and here's a final tidbit that I absolutely swear is true. In the basement at C-E, there's a bathroom stall, with a door that can be closed, that includes a toilet AND a urinal. I kid you not. A toilet AND a urinal. In the SAME stall. That might be more legendary than eight consecutive treys in one quarter or the chance to slice your tuition in half (smile).