HORSEMEN WIN BY A LENGTH

It was an exciting game, and either team could have won, but the junior varsity Horsemen held on for the 40-37 win against St. Ignatius of Loyola Thursday night at home. The Horsemen took an early 10-5 lead at the end of the first quarter, but Loyola narrowed the gap 16-13 at the half. The Horsemen widened the gap 26-18 at the end of the third quarter, but Loyola pressed hard and with only 28 seconds left in the game, they were only down by two, 37-35, and one basket was all they needed to win or send the game into overtime. The Horsemen had the ball and were holding on to it, so Loyola intentionally fouled, sending Khalid Black to the free throw line, where he sank both shots for the Horsemen and widened the gap, causing Loyola to call a time out. Loyola got the ball but then walked and quickly fouled Justin Hernandez who went to the line for the final Horsemen bucket. With one second left in the game, the Horsemen fouled Tommy Kelly who went to the line for Loyola, sinking both shots and sending him into double scoring digits, and the crowd applauded a very well-played game. Three Horsemen scored in double digits. Justin Hernandez had a team high 11 points, as did Tommy Kelly for Loyola. Hernandez was the only player on either team who scored in all four quarters. Chris Colter had a three in the first quarter and ended the game with ten points. Black had a three in the second quarter and another in the fourth, and his final two free throws also put him into double digits with ten. Jose Velez also had a three in the first quarter and twos in both the third and fourth quarters for a total of seven points, and William Manning sank a two in the final quarter to round out the Horsemen scoring. Loyola’s other high scorer was Charlie Gordon with nine. Both teams shot well from the free throw line, with Loyola shooting 6 for 8 and the Horsemen 8 for 12. Congratulations to the junior varsity Horsemen for a well-fought victory.