By PAUL GOTHAM
BUFFALO, N.Y. — As the McQuaid Jesuit Knights limped through the early part of their schedule, Jack Leasure talked frequently about trying to get his squad to play with joy.
At the time, the pursuit appeared like a diversionary tactic intended to take the focus off the results the young Jesuit Knights were receiving against a rigorous schedule.
Saturday night on the campus of Buffalo State College, the site of the 2018 New York State Far West Regionals, Leasure’s intention proved to be genius, and the fifth-year coach needed to look no further than his bench to see the effect.
“We needed to learn how to enjoy each other’s successes,” Leasure said after McQuaid’s 65-57 victory over Niagara Falls (VI) to clinch a spot in the state semi-finals. “Once we did that, we started to grow. A lot of times you will see teams that have quiet benches. The guys who were not in the game tonight were celebrating as their teammates succeeded. That makes a big difference.”
McQuaid’s effort Saturday night brought a season full circle. After opening with three straight losses including a 22-point setback to the same Niagara Falls squad on December 8th, the Knights advanced to the state final four for the first time since 2003 with their 13th win in the last 14 games.
In order to do so, they had to hold off a late comeback attempt by the Wolverines who cut a 14-point lead at the end of the third quarter to three with less than three minutes remaining.
“The one thing we talked about before the game was to not give in to their pressure,” Leasure said of Niagara Falls. “They’re an aggressive team and usually make opponents play their type of game. We felt that other teams just gave in to them. We knew they would make a run at us. We needed to absorb that and not let them change how we play.”
Senior Anthony Iglesia and sophomore Jermaine Taggart paced a long-range attack which saw the Knights connect on 9 of 18 shots from behind the 3-point arc. Iglesia connected on three of five treys to finish with 16 points on the night. Taggart hit four of eight for a game-high 25.
The duo combined to score eight straight points after Niagara Falls made it a one-possession game. Taggart’s layup pushed the McQuaid advantage to 61-53 with :59 left on the clock.
“We really just tried to exploit some of the opportunities that we had on offense,” Iglesia said. “Whether getting into something, trying to run down the clock and get the best shots that we can and making sure we’re valuing our possessions.
“Once we saw the on-ball pressure, we knew it was coming. We expected a lot of pressure from them, but just staying poised on offense and making sure we could get not just good shots, but the best shots down the stretch.”
Niagara Falls, which came into the game winning 15 of their last 16 games, outscored McQuaid in the paint (32-20), on points off turnovers (16-8), on second-chance points (11-8) and at the free throw line (15-14).
“Do you really want to end your career here,” Iglesia said when asked about the mindset the Knights had in preparing for the game. “So really it was how bad do you want it and then staying hungry but staying humble.”
The Knights, which collected 15 assists on 21 made field goals, had a 27-6 advantage from behind the arc.
“We had a lot of confidence going into this game,” Iglesia added. “We used our last loss as motivation that really helped us get this win.
McQuaid will play Half Hollow Hills East (XI) in Saturday’s semi-final. A 12:45 PM tip off is scheduled at Floyd L. Maines Arena in Binghamton, New York.
MCQUAID 65, NIAGARA FALLS 57
MCQUAID (17-8)
Jermaine Taggart 8-15 5-7 25; Anthony Iglesia 4-7 5-7 16; Kobe Long 3-8 0-0
8; Connor Zamiara 3-7 2-4 8; Josh Purcell 2-8 1-2 5; Harry Bruu 1-1 1-2 3;
Aidan Ruppert 0-0 0-0 0; Jon Catone 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 21-47 14-22 65.
NIAGARA FALLS (19-5)
Willie Lightfoot 7-12 9-9 23; Tazaun Rose 3-10 4-4 12; Syquan Ralands 4-10
0-0 8; Roddy Gayle 3-10 1-1 7; Marquise Miller 2-4 0-1 4; Moran Montgomery
1-3 0-0 2; Quaran Dubois 0-6 1-2 1; Taylor Sanders 0-2 0-0 0; Josiah Harris
0-3 0-0 0. Totals 20-60 15-17 57.
McQuaid…………………..
Niagara Falls…………….. 15 11 9 22 – 57
3-point goals–McQuaid 9-18 (Jermaine Taggart 4-8; Anthony Iglesia 3-5; Kobe
Long 2-5), Niagara Falls 2-13 (Tazaun Rose 2-3; Roddy Gayle 0-3; Quaran
Dubois 0-2; Josiah Harris 0-2; Willie Lightfoot 0-3). Fouled
out–McQuaid-None, Niagara Falls-None. Rebounds–McQuaid 37 (Josh Purcell 7;
Connor Zamiara 7), Niagara Falls 36 (Syquan Ralands 7). Assists–McQuaid 15
(Josh Purcell 5; Anthony Iglesia 5), Niagara Falls 7 (Quaran Dubois 2).
Total fouls–McQuaid 12, Niagara Falls 17. Technical fouls–McQuaid-None,
Niagara Falls-None.
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